Very Interesting Findings On Immuno Therapy
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Very Interesting Findings On Immuno Therapy

› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Very Interesting Findings On Immuno Therapy

  • Post
    • March 6, 2018 at 1:06 pm
    mrf
    Keymaster

    Your gut microbes may give melanoma treatment a boost
    Published Friday 5 January 2018
    By Catharine Paddock PhD
    Fact checked by Jasmin Collier

    https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320536.php?iacp

    Having the right balance between good and bad microbes in the gut may improve the likelihood that immunotherapy successfully treats melanoma, which is the most aggressive and dangerous form of skin cancer.

    This was the conclusion that researchers from the University of Chicago, IL, came to after they found much higher levels of specific bacteria in the stool samples of people with melanoma who responded to immunotherapy, compared with those who did not respond to the treatment.
    Among the "good" gut bacteria that the team found to be abundant in those individuals who responded to "PD-1 blockade" immunotherapy were Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium longum, and Collinsella aerofaciens.
    The scientists found that having higher levels of these strains of bacteria in the gut seemed to increase penetration of immune system T cells into the microenvironment of tumors and boost their ability to kill cancer cells.
    In the journal Science, they note how the people who did not respond to the immunotherapy also had an "imbalance in gut flora composition, which correlated with impaired immune cell activity."
     

     

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      • March 6, 2018 at 2:05 pm
      mjanssentx
      Participant

      Rob – I find these results extremely interesting…but also not new.  I have never been much of a believer that you can cure cancer by eating certain foods type guy…but this research seems different.

      I really hope the medical profession pays attention to it and gives it a "try".  It may only be statistical correlation…but if there is any causation…then it could be a super easier and cheap multiplier of in the immuno drugs.

      All the best…Michel

      • March 6, 2018 at 2:23 pm
      Janner
      Participant

      I recently finished reading a book titled:  I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life.  Book by Ed Yong.  Interesting stuff about the history and research about microbes and what we're just starting to figure out.  And while it isn't specifically related to cancer, it does touch upon this subject.

      • March 6, 2018 at 5:01 pm
      Bubbles
      Participant

      I've been posting data on this topic since 2015.  This last post links to many others:  http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2018/01/microbes-againand-how-they-may-be.html  

      Wishing you all my best.  Celeste

      • March 7, 2018 at 12:18 am
      ed williams
      Participant

      I find this and other recent articles like the one from Jenn Largo of MD Anderson interesting but crap from 42 patients only shows a possible link, now can they get funding to run a bigger trial that can prove the concept. I don't think it would be hard to get patients to volunteer but how would they set up the trial? Are they planning on using the results as a biomarker like the guy in Chicago is doing or are they going to try to learn how to control the environment and make changes to improve outcomes of Immunotherapy drugs?

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