Da-Woon Kwack, Zeba Praveen, Yeon-Hee Kim, Chong Woo Yoo, Jae Hee Ko, Suk Min Youn, Joo Yong Park, Jong-Ho Lee, Sung Weon Choi, Mi Kyung Kim
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) often recurs locally, reducing survival. The oral microbiome may influence tumor recurrence, but its prognostic role is unclear. This study investigated oral microbiomes associated with OSCC recurrence and their prognostic merit.
Materials and methods: Saliva samples were collected from 133 patients with OSCC. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed, and microbial signatures were predicted via XGBoost. Functional metagenomic prediction was conducted using PICRUSt2.
Results: XGBoost identified Eubacterium, Lactobacillus, Kingella, Paludibacter, Parvimonas, Staphylococcus, and Veillonella as predictive for OSCC recurrence. Eubacterium and Lactobacillus were significantly enriched in recurrent disease and associated with poor survival. Staphylococcus and Veillonella were abundant in non-recurrent disease, correlating with a favorable prognosis. The microbiome-based model achieved superior predictive performance (AUC = 0.741) compared with the clinical N-stage model (AUC = 0.66). Eubacterium and Lactobacillus showed positive correlations with key genes, such as protein kinase B (AKT), fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 and guanine nucleotide-binding protein G subunit beta-2, within the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. In contrast, Veillonella was negatively correlated with these genes.
Conclusions: Oral saliva microbiome profiling reveals distinct microbial patterns associated with OSCC recurrence. Our correlation-based functional predictions indicated that the enrichment of Eubacterium and Lactobacillus along with a lower abundance of Veillonella may influence recurrence through oncogenic PI3K/AKT/mTOR, underscoring the prognostic potential of saliva-based microbial biomarkers.
期刊介绍:
As the first Open Access journal in its field, the Journal of Oral Microbiology aims to be an influential source of knowledge on the aetiological agents behind oral infectious diseases. The journal is an international forum for original research on all aspects of ''oral health''. Articles which seek to understand ''oral health'' through exploration of the pathogenesis, virulence, host-parasite interactions, and immunology of oral infections are of particular interest. However, the journal also welcomes work that addresses the global agenda of oral infectious diseases and articles that present new strategies for treatment and prevention or improvements to existing strategies.
Topics: ''oral health'', microbiome, genomics, host-pathogen interactions, oral infections, aetiologic agents, pathogenesis, molecular microbiology systemic diseases, ecology/environmental microbiology, treatment, diagnostics, epidemiology, basic oral microbiology, and taxonomy/systematics.
Article types: original articles, notes, review articles, mini-reviews and commentaries