# The Oral Microbiome and Upper Aerodigestive Squamous Cell Cancer

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $373,855

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
We hypothesize that oral microbiota influence squamous cell head and neck cancer (SCHNC) development,
potentially related to carcinogen metabolism. The human oral cavity hosts a diverse microbiota, including
bacteria and fungi. In the previous R01 cycle, we made the novel discovery that oral bacteria are associated
with SCHNC. In this competitive R01 renewal application, we focus on oral fungi (the mycobiome). Oral fungi
activate carcinogens and promote inflammation and oral carcinogenesis. Fungi are commonly isolated from oral
cancers and pre-cancers. Furthermore, patients with fungal Candida clinical infection have increased risk for
SCHNC. Despite this evidence, there is limited knowledge about the direct relationship of oral fungi with
development of SCHNC in the general population.
Our ultimate goal is to identify microbial determinants of SCHNC which may lead to novel microbially-based
approaches for SCHNC prevention. Our specific aims are 1) to test if oral fungi influence the development of
SCHNC, 2) to test if oral fungi and bacteria jointly influence the development of this disease and 3) to determine
whether oral fungi and bacteria contribute to oral microbial functional pathways for carcinogen metabolism. The
study includes 339 incident SCHNC cases and 339 nested controls in the NCI-PLCO, ACS-Cancer Prevention
Study-II and the Southern Community Cohort Study.
More than 468,000 SCHNC cases and 323,000 related deaths occur annually worldwide. Knowledge gained
from this study will increase our understanding of the etiology of SCHNC. The study will serve to identify high-
risk subjects, based on oral microbial status. Pre-diagnostic microbiota found in this prospective study may lead
to new microbial approaches for personalized prevention of this disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10320863
- **Project number:** 5R01CA159036-07
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Jiyoung Ahn
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $373,855
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2011-02-14 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10320863

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10320863, The Oral Microbiome and Upper Aerodigestive Squamous Cell Cancer (5R01CA159036-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10320863. Licensed CC0.

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