Use of a capsule-sponge device for the evaluation of microbial dysbiosis in patients treated for larynx or oral cavity cancer and in early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a pilot study. Human metagenome

Background: A non-endoscopic capsule-sponge device allows sampling the entire length of the esophagus. Here, we compared microbiomes of the oral cavity, esophagus, and gastric corpus collected by oral swab, capsule-sponge device, and endoscopic biopsy, respectively, in patients representing three distinct risk profiles for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods: The study enrolled 40 controls with dyspeptic symptoms, 21 patients at high risk of ESCC who had completed treatment for the larynx or oral cavity squamous cancer, and 11 patients with early ESCC. Microbial genomic DNA was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.Conclusions: The bacterial communities of the upper digestive tract were clustered according to the anatomic site. Despite substantial differences in gastric and esophageal microbiota samples between controls and high-risk patients, the microbial members and diversity showed small differences between control individuals and patients with esophageal neoplasia. It remains unclear whether gastric and esophageal dysbiosis is associated with or is a consequence of treatment for squamous cell cancer of the larynx or oral cavity.Keywords: capsule-sponge device; microbial dysbiosis; early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma