April 27, 2024

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Healthy gut microbiome may improve cancer immunotherapy success

Nature Medicine: Healthy gut microbiome may improve cancer immunotherapy success



 


Nature Medicine: Healthy gut microbiome may improve cancer immunotherapy success

The composition of the gut microbiome is directly related to the body’s response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy, but there is very limited consensus among scientists on the association between specific microbiome signatures and the clinical benefit of ICIs.


The composition of the gut microbiome is directly related to the body’s response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy, but there is very limited consensus among scientists on the association between specific microbiome signatures and the clinical benefit of ICIs.

 

Recently, in a research report titled “Cross-cohort gut microbiome associations with immune checkpoint inhibitor response in advanced melanoma” published in the international journal Nature Medicine, scientists from King’s College London and other institutions conducted the largest-scale study to date. The study confirmed a direct correlation between the gut microbiome and the body’s response to melanoma cancer immunotherapy.

 

“Preclinical findings in a very limited number of patients suggest that, as a key regulator of the immune system, the gut microbiome plays a key role in each patient’s response to cancer immunotherapy, especially in response to cancer immunotherapy,” said researcher Karla Lee.

In the case of melanoma, the research presented here may have very important implications for oncology and general medical research. The microbiome is the set of microbial communities living in the body’s gut that can be altered through dietary changes, next-generation probiotics, and fecal transplants to modify how the microbiome acts on the host’s immune system.

Understanding the characteristics of the microbiome could potentially help clinicians alter a patient’s microbiome before receiving therapy.

Less than 50% of patients respond positively to melanoma immunotherapy, so finding strategies to increase the number of patients who respond positively appears to be crucial.

 

In this study, which brought together the largest cohort of melanoma patients and samples from 5 clinical research centers in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, the researchers conducted a large-scale metagenomic study (sequencing the gut microbiome) to investigate whether the gut microbiome There is an association between the composition and function of the gut microbiome and the body’s response to immunotherapy.

The findings confirm a very complex association involving different bacterial species in different patient populations.

The researchers say all three types of bacteria appear to be associated with better immune responses in patients, known as pseudominiature chains. Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, Roseburia spp and Akkermansia muciniphila.

Another finding is that the microbiome itself may also be strongly influenced by a variety of factors, including the patient’s constitution, use of proton pump inhibitors, and diet, which should perhaps be considered in future longitudinal studies.

 

 

Nature Medicine: Healthy gut microbiome may improve cancer immunotherapy success

Image source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01695-5

 

 

“Our results show that the chances of survival based on a healthy microbiome nearly doubled across study subgroups, and our ultimate goal is to identify which properties of the microbiome directly impact immunotherapy,” said researcher Tim Spector. clinical benefit of using these features in novel personalized therapies to support cancer immunotherapy; but at the same time, this study also highlights the potential impact of good diet and gut health on the survival of patients receiving immunotherapy .

 

Taken together, the researchers point out that studying the microbiome is critical for improving and developing individualized immunotherapies for the treatment of melanoma.

Because there are certain differences between the gut microbiome of different individuals, later researchers must also conduct larger studies.

Scale studies to understand specific gut microbiota signatures that may lead to a positive response to immunotherapy.

 

 

 

 

Reference:

Lee, K.A., Thomas, A.M., Bolte, L.A. et al. Cross-cohort gut microbiome associations with immune checkpoint inhibitor response in advanced melanoma. Nat Med (2022). doi:10.1038/s41591-022-01695-5

Nature Medicine: Healthy gut microbiome may improve cancer immunotherapy success

(source:internet, reference only)


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