Oral bacteria in early- and late-onset tongue cancers: A pilot study to standardize sequencing of oral microbiota in saliva samples
Next Project
This pilot project was initiated to standardize protocols and build laboratory and analytical expertise for human microbiome studies in India. Funded through the Yusuf Hamied Faculty Fellowship awarded by the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, New York, USA, and Columbia Global Centres, Mumbai, we generated preliminary data on oral microbiota in stored saliva samples from oral tongue cancer patients and cancer-free control participants using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing technique. Compared to other subsites, tongue cancers in the oral cavity tend to affect young individuals, and individuals without tobacco, betel quid or alcohol use but with family history of cancers. This necessitates the investigation for novel risk factors for oral tongue cancers in addition to well-established risk factors.
