A Korean research team has presented a method to accurately predict lung cancer by analyzing the bronchi microbiome.

Chungnam National University Hospital said Monday that a research team led by Professors Jeong Jae-wook and Kang Da-hyun of the Department of Respiratory and Allergy Medicine recently published a paper titled "Discovery of lung cancer prediction biomarkers based on microbiome analysis of bronchial lavage fluid" in Scientific Reports, a sister publication of the world-renowned scientific journal Nature.

Biopsy of lung lesions has been essential to diagnose lung cancer so far. However, lung biopsy is more invasive than biopsy of other organs, such as breast and thyroid, and can sometimes lead to serious complications, including pneumothorax and bleeding.

Therefore, when a patient visits a hospital with a lung nodule or lung abscess that is difficult to differentiate between benign and malignant and a lung mass that needs to be differentiated from lung cancer, it is essential to have a biomarker that can help decide whether to perform a biopsy and diagnose lung cancer.

In this study, the research team performed microbiome analysis on a very small sample of bronchial lavage fluid and developed a model that can distinguish and predict lung cancer from benign lung nodules and pneumonia.

"We will continue our research to analyze the microbiome in bronchial lavage fluid to bring better treatment outcomes to patients at our hospital," Profesor Kang said.