Author of

• 32838

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  P1 - Poster Viewing (ID 5)

  • Event: NACLC 2019
  • Type: Poster Session
  • Track:
  • Presentations: 1
  • Moderators:
  • Coordinates: 10/11/2019, 16:45 - 18:00, Exhibit Hall

  • 33467

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    P1.22 - The Lung Microbiome and Metabolome Are Altered in Lung Cancer Patients. (ID 66)

    16:45 - 18:00  |  Presenting Author(s): Frank Weinberg
    • Abstract

    Background:
    Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. While much progress has been made with the advent of immunotherapy and targeted molecular therapy, the majority of patients with lung cancer fail to respond to these treatments. Therefore, the discovery of novel biological pathways critical to lung cancer growth will help drive development of new therapeutic targets. Recently, dysregulated metabolism has been recognized as a hallmark of cancer. Studies have also revealed a bi-directional cross talk between tumor metabolites and cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Importantly, microbes within the TME provide a source of metabolites and could potentially effect the tumor and TME. Recent studies have demonstrated that lung microbiota are altered in acute and chronic lung disease, correlated with alveolar inflammation, and predictive of disease outcomes. However, the lung microbiome has not been well characterized in lung cancer patients. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the lung microbiota of lung cancer patients is altered and leads to production of byproducts that can promote tumorigenesis and TME remodeling.
    
    
    Method:
    The lung microbiome in lung cancer patients was characterized by obtaining bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from cancerous and paired non-cancerous lung from patients with lung cancer (n=20). Tissues from lung tumor and paired non-tumor tissue from the same lobe of the same patient were also collected. Lung bacteria were characterized using droplet digital PCR and amplicon sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Metabolite extraction was also performed from BALF for mass spectroscopy analysis.
    
    
    Results:
    When compared to paired non-cancer-associated specimens from the same patients, the lung microbiota of cancer-associated lungs had increased bacterial DNA burden and decreased community diversity. The relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla were significantly increased in cancerous tissue as compared to non-cancerous tissue, while the relative abundance of Proteobacteria phylum was significantly decreased. Finally, mass spectroscopy performed on BALF from cancerous and non-cancerous lung demonstrated that certain bacteria-associated metabolites (ie. taurine) are enriched in cancerous BALF as compared to non-cancerous BALF from the same patients.
    
    
    Conclusion:
    Compared to non-cancerous lungs in the same patients, lungs with lung cancer have significantly increased bacterial DNA burden and decreased diversity as well as enrichment of distinct bacterial phyla. Differences between cancerous and non-cancerous lung must be further exploited and studied in the context of prognosis and therapy for lung cancer patients.