The association between gut butyrate-producing bacteria and non-small-cell lung cancer

Background Recently, it has been found that the gut microbiota may affect the development of lung cancer through the "gut-lung axis." To investigate this relationship, we performed this study to determine whether the gut microbiota in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is different from that in healthy adults. Methods Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of eight gut butyrate-producing bacteria in healthy adults and NSCLC patients. We enrolled 30 patients with NSCLC and 30 subjects from 100 healthy adults after matching for age and sex. Results Compared to healthy adults, most of the gut butyrate-producing bacteria in NSCLC patients were significantly decreased; these included Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Clostridium leptum, Clostridial cluster I, Ruminococcus spp., Clostridial Cluster XIVa, and Roseburia spp. Among the gut butyrate-producing bacteria, we analyzed Clostridial cluster IV and Eubacterium rectale were not decreased in NSCLC patients. Conclusions We conclude that NSCLC patients had gut butyrate-producing bacteria dysbiosis. Further studies should be performed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of how these specific bacteria affect lung cancer progression and prognosis.