Tuning the Microbiome Improves Melanoma Immunotherapy Response

Source: GEN, November 2017

A probiotic regimen might be a good addition to patients that receive anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD1) immunotherapy drugs, as investigators at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and other institutions have just released new data describing how bacteria that reside in the human digestive tract can influence how melanoma responds to immunotherapy. Findings from the new study—published recently in Science (“Gut Microbiome Modulates Response to Anti–PD-1 Immunotherapy in Melanoma Patients”) could provide a new avenue for research to improve treatment.
Patients with metastatic melanoma treated with anti-PD1 checkpoint blockade have their disease controlled longer if they have a more diverse population of bacteria in the gut or an abundance of certain types of bacteria, according to the MD Anderson team’s analysis of fecal samples to assess patients’ gut microbiomes. Previous research has shown that a person’s microbiome is a modifiable risk factor that can be targeted by diet, exercise, antibiotic or probiotic use, or transplantation of fecal material.
“You can change your microbiome, it’s really not that difficult, so we think these findings open up huge new opportunities," explained senior study investigator Jennifer Wargo, M.D., associate professor of surgical oncology and genomic medicine at MD Anderson. “Our studies in patients and subsequent mouse research really drive home that our gut microbiomes modulate both systemic and antitumor immunity."