Antibiotics make melanoma worse by depleting gut microbiome, finds study
Source: TMR Research Blog, September 2022
The use of far-ranging antibiotics in mice with malignant melanoma, a severe type of skin cancer, increased their metastatic bone growth. This is likely because the drugs lessened the intestinal flora in mice and weakened the immune response, finds a new study by researchers at Emory University
The findings emphasize the importance of gut microbiome in overall health, and suggests that gastrointestinal effects need to be carefully weighed when antibiotic therapies are used for treating cancer or other diseases, stated one of the authors of the study.
“Any disease or therapy that has downside on the gut microbiome could have a negative impact on health,” stated the researchers who presented the report at the annual meeting of American Society of Bone and Mineral.