Abstract
Background
The oral microbiome, as a crucial biomarker and regulator in cancer development and response to treatment, has gradually gained attention among researchers. However, its impact on breast cancer remains poorly understood. The influence of oral microbiome on the chemotherapy sensitivity of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and its molecular mechanism are still unclear, and further confirmation is needed to determine whether it can be used as a biomarker for predicting chemotherapy sensitivity in TNBC.
Results
We observed significant differences in the composition of oral microbiome among patients with varying chemotherapy sensitivities for TNBC patients, as well as notable changes in oral microbiome after chemotherapy in patients with favorable responses to treatment. Our analysis revealed that chemotherapy sensitivity patients had higher levels of Lactobacillus and Neisseria components, while exhibiting lower levels of Clostridium components. After chemotherapy, there was an increase in Clostridium and Microbacillus components among patients with positive responses, along with a decrease in Streptococcus and Neisseria components. Conversely, no significant differences were observed in the microbiota of patients with poor responses after undergoing chemotherapy. Biomarkers were selected for the response-prediction classifier, which yielded an area under the curve value of 77.3% (95%CI: 60.5%-94.2%).
Conclusion
Oral microbiome can serve as a potential biomarker for predicting neoadjuvant chemotherapy sensitivity in triple-negative breast cancer due to its simplicity, non-invasiveness, and repeatability.