Salivary microbiome changes distinguish response to chemoradiotherapy in patients with oral cancer (link.springer.com)

• Oral bacterial diversity decreases after SCC treatment.
• Chemoradiotherapy, but not surgery alone, alters microbiome structure significantly.
• DMBT1 increase correlates with post-treatment microbial shifts.

"This longitudinal study analyzed the oral microbiome of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) before and after treatment using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Treatment reduced bacterial richness and diversity, with significant shifts in community structure. Chemoradiotherapy responders and non-responders showed distinct microbial profiles. Post-treatment increases in the antimicrobial protein DMBT1 correlated with specific bacterial genera, suggesting a role for DMBT1 in modulating the oral microbiome."