Diagnostic efficacy of targeted next-generation sequencing in suspected lower respiratory tract infections of patients with cancer: a retrospective study.

ABSTRACT: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) significantly threaten the prognosis of cancer. Conventional microbial culture (CMC) often fails to identify pathogens, leading to inappropriate antibiotic use and delayed treatment. This study assesses the effectiveness of targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) for diagnosing LRTIs in malignant patients, including those with lung cancer and extrapulmonary malignancies. A retrospective study was conducted on 190 patients diagnosed with malignant tumours and suspected LRTI. Sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were analysed using both tNGS and CMC concurrently. tNGS involves DNA/RNA extraction, PCR amplification, and sequencing, followed by clinical interpretation of the results. tNGS identified 58 pathogens compared with the

SUBMITTER: Fan X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12783647 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature