Emily Vogtmann

Ph.D., M.P.H.

National Cancer Institute

Investigator

NLST (Learn more about this study)

NLST-1116

Aug 17, 2023

Association between the saliva/sputum microbiome and risk of lung cancer in the National Lung Screening Trial (ACRIN 6654)

Periodontal disease and lung infections have been found to be associated with lung cancer risk, possibly implicating a role of the oral or lung microbiome in the etiology of lung cancer. We recently conducted the largest, prospective study to investigate the association between the oral microbiome and lung cancer risk which included 1,306 lung cancer cases and 3,304 individuals from a nested referent subcohort nested within three large cohort studies. We found that multiple measures of the oral microbiome were prospectively associated with lung cancer risk, but these cohort studies only included a one time oral wash sample. Given that the NLST collected saliva/sputum samples at each annual lung cancer screening visit, the NLST provides an excellent opportunity to validate our results in a separate cohort, but also extend our findings to understand the dynamics of microbial changes in relation to lung cancer development. We propose to measure the saliva/sputum microbiome from 438 lung cancer cases and 876 matched controls in the NLST to address the following primary aims: 1) prospectively ascertain the association between the saliva/sputum microbiome and lung cancer risk; and 2) evaluate saliva/sputum microbial changes preceding a lung cancer diagnosis. This unique study will provide greater insight into lung cancer etiology and may identify individuals at greater risk for lung cancer.