Lung microbiome mediates the progression from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to lung cancer through inflammation

Lung microbiome exists in the respiratory tract and parenchymal tissues. It mediates lung injury through a variety of mechanisms, including bacterial disturbance, metabolites, inflammatory response, immune response, and genotoxicity. Accumulating evidences suggest that changes in lung microbiome correlates with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer, and the microbiome promotes the progression from COPD to lung cancer. In this review, we mainly introduce the impairment of the homeostasis of the lung microbiome and its inflammation that leads to COPD and lung cancer, then focus on how the microbiome mediates the progression from COPD to lung cancer through inflammatory response. The review may provide a new theoretical basis for clinical prevention, optimal treatment strategy and design of new drugs for COPD and lung cancer.