Important evidence indicates that the microbiota plays a key role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Here, paired saliva and brush specimens were obtained from 276 participants undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination before or during screening for upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancer. The esophageal microbiota was investigated by 16S rRNA gene profiling and next-generation sequencing. We observed that as the disease progressed, the α diversity in the saliva and cell brush samples decreased. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) results showed that in both the saliva and cell brush specimens, Granulicatella, Rothia, Streptococcus, Gemella, Leptotrichia and Schaalia were common biomarkers in patients with low-grade dysplasia, Lactobacillus was a common biomarker in patients with high-grade dysplasia, and Bosea, Solobacterium, Gemella, and Peptostreptococcus were common biomarkers in patients with esophageal cancer. The top 3 genera in the saliva and cell brush specimens had areas under the curve (AUCs) of 87.16 and 89.13%, respectively, to distinguish ESCC patients from normal people. The PICRUSt2 results identified in brush samples that patients with ESCC had decreased nitrate reductase functions. Our results suggest that future studies can focus on the function of the characteristic bacteria in ESCC.

重要证据表明，微生物群在食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）中起关键作用。在这里，在筛查上消化道 (UGI) 癌症之前或期间，从 276 名接受上消化道内窥镜检查的参与者那里获得了配对的唾液和刷子标本。通过 16S rRNA 基因分析和二代测序研究食管微生物群。我们观察到随着疾病的进展，唾液和细胞刷样本中的 α 多样性下降。线性判别分析效应大小 (LEfSe) 结果表明，在唾液和细胞刷标本中，粒状菌、罗氏菌、链球菌, Gemella, Leptotrichia 和 沙利亚 是低度不典型增生患者的常见生物标志物， 乳酸菌 是高度不典型增生患者的常见生物标志物，并且 博西, Solobacterium, Gemella， 和 消化链球菌是食管癌患者常见的生物标志物。唾液和细胞刷标本中前 3 个属的曲线下面积 (AUC) 分别为 87.16% 和 89.13%，可将 ESCC 患者与正常人区分开来。PICRUSt2 结果在刷样中发现 ESCC 患者的硝酸还原酶功能降低。我们的结果表明，未来的研究可以集中在 ESCC 中特征细菌的功能上。