TY - JOUR
T1 - The human oral microbiome and risk of colorectal cancer within three prospective cohort studies in the United States
AU - Vogtmann, Emily
AU - Yano, Yukiko
AU - Zouiouich, Semi
AU - Hua, Xing
AU - Wan, Yunhu
AU - Purandare, Vaishnavi
AU - Li, Shilan
AU - Dagnall, Casey L.
AU - Jones, Kristine
AU - Hicks, Belynda D.
AU - Hutchinson, Amy
AU - Caporaso, J. Gregory
AU - Wheeler, William
AU - Huang, Wen Yi
AU - Freedman, Neal D.
AU - Sandler, Dale P.
AU - Beane Freeman, Laura E.
AU - Liao, Linda M.
AU - Gail, Mitchell H.
AU - Shi, Jianxin
AU - Abnet, Christian C.
AU - Sinha, Rashmi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Cancer Society.
PY - 2025/3/15
Y1 - 2025/3/15
N2 - Background: Oral microbes detected in feces have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) in cross-sectional studies. This study investigated the prospective associations between the oral microbiome and incident CRC in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), National Institutes of Health–AARP (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study, and Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Methods: Individuals with oral samples collected before incident CRC diagnoses were identified in the AHS (N = 331), NIH-AARP (N = 249), and PLCO (N = 446) and compared with referent subcohorts (N = 3431). The V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was sequenced from oral wash DNA, and the data were processed with QIIME2. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for overall CRC and by anatomic subsite (i.e., proximal colon, distal colon, and rectum) were estimated with Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for potential confounders by cohort and then meta-analyzed. Results: Overall, no associations were found between microbial characteristics and CRC risk. However, associations were observed with alpha and beta diversity indices and individual genera in analyses stratified by anatomic subsite. For instance, the presence of Olsenella was strongly positively associated with distal colon cancer risk (HR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.59–2.95), whereas the presence of Prevotella 2 was positively associated with rectal cancer risk (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.14–2.46). Conclusions: This large study of the prospective association between the oral microbiome and CRC risk showed numerous site-specific associations, including multiple associations with distal colon and rectal cancer risk.
AB - Background: Oral microbes detected in feces have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) in cross-sectional studies. This study investigated the prospective associations between the oral microbiome and incident CRC in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), National Institutes of Health–AARP (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study, and Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Methods: Individuals with oral samples collected before incident CRC diagnoses were identified in the AHS (N = 331), NIH-AARP (N = 249), and PLCO (N = 446) and compared with referent subcohorts (N = 3431). The V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was sequenced from oral wash DNA, and the data were processed with QIIME2. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for overall CRC and by anatomic subsite (i.e., proximal colon, distal colon, and rectum) were estimated with Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for potential confounders by cohort and then meta-analyzed. Results: Overall, no associations were found between microbial characteristics and CRC risk. However, associations were observed with alpha and beta diversity indices and individual genera in analyses stratified by anatomic subsite. For instance, the presence of Olsenella was strongly positively associated with distal colon cancer risk (HR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.59–2.95), whereas the presence of Prevotella 2 was positively associated with rectal cancer risk (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.14–2.46). Conclusions: This large study of the prospective association between the oral microbiome and CRC risk showed numerous site-specific associations, including multiple associations with distal colon and rectal cancer risk.
KW - 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing data
KW - cohort study
KW - colorectal cancer
KW - distal colon cancer
KW - oral microbiome
KW - proximal colon cancer
KW - rectal cancer
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U2 - 10.1002/cncr.35802
DO - 10.1002/cncr.35802
M3 - Article
C2 - 40069139
AN - SCOPUS:105000265200
SN - 0008-543X
VL - 131
JO - Cancer
JF - Cancer
IS - 6
M1 - e35802
ER -