Impact of the local oral microbiome in the pathogenesis of oral carcinoma in Fanconi anemia patients

Fanconi anemia (FA), which is a rare chromosomal instability disorder due to germ-line-mutations in DNA repair genes, is clinically characterized by congenital malformations, progressive bone marrow failure and an increased risk of malignancies especially squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC) at a relatively young age. Because of drastic side-effects due to the defective DNA repair, chemotherapy is generally not suitable and radiation goes along with a lot of side effects. Surgery is the most effective treatment of OSCC in FA patients, but requires an early detection of the malignant lesions. Besides infectious diseases, variability of the oral microflora also related to oral cancers. Employing high coverage, massive parallel sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons we analysed the microbiome at distinct regions of the oral cavity such as the tumour of the tongue, gingival tissue and corresponding contralateral sites.