Comment on Dorobisz et al. Assessment of Prognostic Factors, Clinical Features Including the Microbiome, and Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary Site. Cancers 2024, 16, 3416
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear colleagues,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on "Comment on Dorobisz et al. Assessment of Prognostic Factors, Clinical Features Including the Microbiome, and Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary Site Cancers 2024, 16, 3416" by Tatsuki Itagaki et al.
As a reviewer, I share the authors' perspective on the difficulties associated with applying statistical analyses in the context of a 16S rRNA sequencing study of the oral microbiome. Notably, in the original manuscript, the term “oral microbiome” is only introduced in Figure 5 and section 4.5. Prior to this, the authors refer simply to the "microbiome," which may be confusing and clinically misleading for readers as it obscures the study's specific focus.
Furthermore, essential metrics such as diversity and richness were omitted, even though reporting these parameters is generally considered standard practice in microbiome studies. I concur with our colleagues from Japan that a more nuanced analysis of the microbiome data presented by Dorobisz et al. would be achievable.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
