Is Short-Read 16S rRNA Sequencing of Oral Microbiome Sampling a Suitable Diagnostic Tool for Head and Neck Cancer?

ABSTRACT: The oral microbiome, studied by sampling the saliva or by oral rinse, has been long thought to have diagnostic capacity for head and neck cancers (HNC). However, previous reports on the HNC oral microbiome provide inconsistent results. The aim of this study is to consolidate these datasets and determine the oral microbial composition between HNC patients to healthy and premalignant individuals. We analyzed 16 published head and neck cancer (HNC) short-read 16S rRNA sequencing datasets, specifically targeting the V3V4, V4 and V4V5 regions. These datasets included saliva and oral rinse samples from donors with HNC, as well as from healthy and premalignant donors. Differences in diversities and microbial abundance were determined. HNC saliva displayed lower alpha diversity than healthy donors

SUBMITTER: Yeo K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11510575 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature