The Complex Interplay Between Cancer and the Lung Microbiome

Lung microbiome composition differs by malignancy context in patients undergoing lung resection, with primary tumor site linked to variation (p=0.014) and tumor mutations including TP53 (p=0.040).

• Why it matters: Prior studies on the lung microbiome and lung cancer have produced inconsistent findings, likely from small cohorts and heterogeneous sampling, limiting clinical interpretation.
• What they did: In 83 prospectively enrolled resection patients, bronchial swabs and parenchymal biopsies were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon (V4) sequencing and an established pipeline, then compared with clinical and tumor data.
• The result: For primary lung cancer, microbiome composition did not differ by tumor histology, while a near-significant link was observed between prolonged air leaks and alpha diversity (p=0.070), supporting further validation for peri-operative applications.

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