Fecal Microbiota Strongly Correlates with Tissue Microbiota Composition in Colorectal Cancer but Not in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Sep 23, 2026

Microbiota information is important for diagnosing colorectal cancer (CRC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), yet the relationship between microbial components in tissues and feces is unclear. This study quantified correlation between tissue microbiota and fecal microbiota in 38 CRC patients and 19 NSCLC patients using 16S rDNA metagenomic sequencing with QIIME2 and statistical analysis in STATA. Tumor and non-tumor tissue genera were strongly correlated, and CRC showed strong tissue–feces genus correlations. No comparable correlation was observed for NSCLC. Results support fecal microbiota as a non-invasive biomarker for CRC while emphasizing key distinctions for NSCLC.

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Article Fecal Microbiota Strongly Correlates with Tissue Microbiota Composition in Colorectal Cancer but Not in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Juan Vicente-Valor 1,2,†, Sofía Tesolato 1,2,†, Mateo Paz-Cabezas 2,3, Dulcenombre Gómez-Garre 2,4,5,6, Adriana Ortega-Hernández 2,4, Sofía de la Serna 2,7,8, Inmaculada Domínguez-Serrano 2,7,8, Jana Dziakova 2,7,8, Daniel Rivera 2,7, Jose-Ramón Jarabo 2,8,9, Ana-María Gómez-Martínez 2,8,9, Florentino Hernando 2,8,9, Antonio Torres 2,7,8 and Pilar Iniesta 1,2, * Academic Editor: Donatella Delle Cave Received: 12 December 2024 Revised: 13 January 2025 Accepted: 14 January 2025 Published: 16 January 2025 Citation: Vicente-Valor, J.; Tesolato, S.; Paz-Cabezas, M.; Gómez-Garre, D.; Ortega-Hernández, A.; de la Serna, S.; Domínguez-Serrano, I.; Dziakova, J.; Rivera, D.; Jarabo, J.-R.; et al. Fecal Microbiota Strongly Correlates with Tissue Microbiota Composition in Colorectal Cancer but Not in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 717. [https://](https://)[ ](https://)[doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020717](doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020717) [Copyright:](Copyright:) © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://creativecommons.org/](https://creativecommons.org/)[ ](https://creativecommons.org/)[licenses/by/4.0/](licenses/by/4.0/)) . 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain; [juavicen@ucm.es](juavicen@ucm.es) (J.V.-V.); sofiteso@ucm.es (S.T.) 2 San Carlos Health Research Institute (IdISSC), 28040 Madrid, Spain; [Mateo.paz@salud.madrid.org](Mateo.paz@salud.madrid.org) (M.P.-C.); [mgomezgarre@salud.madrid.org](mgomezgarre@salud.madrid.org) (D.G.-G.); [a.ortega.hernandez@hotmail.com](a.ortega.hernandez@hotmail.com) (A.O.-H.); [sdlsernae@gmail.com](sdlsernae@gmail.com) (S.d.l.S.); [inmaculadadominguezserrano@gmail.com](inmaculadadominguezserrano@gmail.com) (I.D.-S.); [jana.dziakova@gmail.com](jana.dziakova@gmail.com) (J.D.); [danielriveraalonso@gmail.com](danielriveraalonso@gmail.com) (D.R.); [joseramon.jarabo@salud.madrid.org](joseramon.jarabo@salud.madrid.org) (J.-R.J.); [anamagom@ucm.es](anamagom@ucm.es) (A.-M.G.-M.); [florhern@ucm.es](florhern@ucm.es) (F.H.); [antoniojose.torres@salud.madrid.org](antoniojose.torres@salud.madrid.org) (A.T.) 3 Biomedical Research Networking Center in Cancer (CIBERONC), Carlos III Health Institute, 28029 Madrid, Spain 4 Cardiovascular Risk Group, Microbiota Laboratory, San Carlos Hospital, 28040 Madrid, Spain 5 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain 6 Biomedical Research Networking Center in Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV), Carlos III Health Institute, 28029 Madrid, Spain 7 Digestive Surgery Service, San Carlos Hospital, 28040 Madrid, Spain 8 Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain 9 Thoracic Surgery Service, San Carlos Hospital, 28040 Madrid, Spain * Correspondence: insepi@ucm.es † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: Microbiota could be of interest in the diagnosis of colorectal and non-small cell lung cancer (CRC and NSCLC) . However, how the microbial components of tissues and feces reflect each other remains unknown. In this work, our main objective is to discover the degree of correlation between the composition of the tissue microbiota and that of the feces of patients affected by CRC and NSCLC. Specifically, we investigated tumor and non-tumor tissues from 38 recruited patients with CRC and 19 with NSCLC. DNA from samples was submitted for 16S rDNA metagenomic sequencing, followed by data analysis through the QIIME2 pipeline and further statistical processing with STATA IC16 . Tumor and non-tumor tissue selected genera were highly correlated in both CRC an

FAQs

What is the main objective of the study?

To determine the degree of correlation between the composition of tissue microbiota and fecal microbiota in patients with CRC and NSCLC.

How were microbial communities measured and analyzed?

DNA from tumor and non-tumor tissues and fecal samples was sequenced using 16S rDNA metagenomic sequencing, followed by QIIME2 pipeline processing and statistical analysis with STATA IC16.

What did the study find about CRC versus NSCLC tissue–feces correlations?

In CRC, taxa detected in feces strongly correlated with those from colorectal tissues; this correlation was not demonstrated in NSCLC. The findings also reinforce fecal microbiota as a non-invasive biomarker for CRC.

Sep 23, 2026

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