Relationship of Mogibacterium in the gut microbiota with early-stage lung cancer

Abstract Aims To investigate gut microbiota abundance and diversity in early-stage lung cancer patients. Methods and Results Patients with benign lung nodules or early-stage lung cancer and healthy individuals were consecutively recruited. Inflammatory factors in venous blood were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Gut microbiota richness and diversity were assessed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentrations in fecal samples were quantified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The results demonstrated that gut microbiota richness and diversity decreased in patients with benign lung nodules. Principal component analysis identified no remarkable differences among the three groups (P > 0.05). The linear discriminant analysis effect size algorithm determined increased abundances of Mogibacterium in the lung cancer group; Bacillales_Incertae_Sedis_XI, Gemella, Peptostreptococcus, and Bacteroides sp. AN 5745 in the lung nodule group; and Deltaproteobacteria, Desulfovibrionales, Desulfovibrionaceae, Alphaproteobacteria, Rhodospirillales, Acetivibrio, Sutterella, and Eisenbergiella in the healthy group. SCFA concentrations and inflammatory factors did not significantly differ among groups. Conclusions Patients with early-stage lung cancer displayed increased Mogibacterium abundance. No significant differences were observed in SCFA or inflammatory marker concentrations.