Ganly I, et al. – In this study, researchers compared 18 nonsmoking, human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative patients with oral cavity squamous cell cancer (OC-SCC), 8 patients with premalignant lesions (PML,) and 12 control participants in order to investigate the the link between oral microbiome and OC-SCC in nonsmokers negative for HPV. Oral microbiome was sampled by oral wash and defined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. They found that Fusobacterium, Prevotella, and Alloprevotella were enriched in OC-SCC; commensal Streptococcus, on the other hand, was depleted. Based on the four genera plus a marker genus Veillonella for PML, oral microbiome was classified into two types. Upon gene/pathway analysis, the authors noted a progressive increase of genes encoding HSP90 and ligands for TLRs 1, 2 and 4 along the controls→PML → OC-SCC progression sequence. Findings, therefore, suggested a link between periodontal pathogens and OC-SCC in nonsmoking, HPV-negative patients.