A worldwide collaboration involving more than 40 doctors in three major hospitals has found a causal link between the gut microbiome and the immune system’s ability to fight cancer.
The researchers identified 11 strains of gut bacteria that can activate the immune system to slow the growth of melanoma.
Immunotherapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors has been a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, but the treatments don’t work for everybody and often have significant side effects.
The new research offers the possibility to better understand which patients will benefit from treatment and ultimately to expand the number of people who benefit from immunotherapy.
It’s another example of the critical importance of our gut microbiome to our overall health and wellbeing.
You can read more about the research here.