The airway microbiota of non-small-cell lung cancer patients and its relationship to tumor stage and EGFR gene mutation

The airway microbiota and its association with clinical parameters of lung cancer remained largely unknown. This study identified associations between sputum microbiota and clinical stage, intrathoracic metastasis, lymph node metastasis and EGFR mutation. Our study provided potential bacterial markers linked with various important clinical parameters and called for larger and deeper studies for further investigation of the nature of airway microbiota alteration and lung cancer development and progression.