The Lung Microbiome in COPD and Lung Cancer: Exploring the Potential of Metal-Based Drugs

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 24; no. 15; p. 12296
• Main Authors: O'Shaughnessy, Megan, Sheils, Orla, Baird, Anne-Marie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.08.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Antimicrobial agents; B cells; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cytokines; Development and progression; Drugs; Health aspects; Humans; Immune system; Inflammation; Kinases; Lung; Lung cancer; Lung diseases; Lung diseases, Obstructive; lung microbiome; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; metal-based drugs; metal-phen complexes; Microbiota; Mortality; Oxidative stress; Pathogenesis; Pathogens; phenanthroline; Pollutants; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - therapy; Review; Risk Factors; Smoking; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; lung cancer; phenanthroline; metal-based drugs; metal-phen complexes; lung microbiome; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512296

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer 17 are two of the most prevalent and debilitating respiratory diseases worldwide, both associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. As major global health concerns, they impose a substantial burden on patients, healthcare systems, and society at large. Despite their distinct aetiologies, lung cancer and COPD share common risk factors, clinical features, and pathological pathways, which have spurred increasing research interest in their co-occurrence. One area of particular interest is the role of the lung microbiome in the development and progression of these diseases, including the transition from COPD to lung cancer. Exploring novel therapeutic strategies, such as metal-based drugs, offers a potential avenue for targeting the microbiome in these diseases to improve patient outcomes. This review aims to provide an overview of the current understanding of the lung microbiome, with a particular emphasis on COPD and lung cancer, and to discuss the potential of metal-based drugs as a therapeutic strategy for these conditions, specifically concerning targeting the microbiome.