Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy

In recent years, evidence has shown that the gut microbiome significantly influences responses to immunotherapy. This has sparked interest in targeting it to improve therapy outcomes and predictions of response and toxicity. Research has demonstrated that dysbiosis, often resulting from antibiotic u...

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Main Authors: Giorgio Trinchieri, Maria A Clavijo-Salomon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-04-01
Series:Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Online Access:https://jitc.bmj.com/content/13/4/e011281.full
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author Giorgio Trinchieri
Maria A Clavijo-Salomon
author_facet Giorgio Trinchieri
Maria A Clavijo-Salomon
author_sort Giorgio Trinchieri
collection DOAJ
description In recent years, evidence has shown that the gut microbiome significantly influences responses to immunotherapy. This has sparked interest in targeting it to improve therapy outcomes and predictions of response and toxicity. Research has demonstrated that dysbiosis, often resulting from antibiotic use, can diminish the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors, and this lack of efficacy could be linked to systemic inflammation. Certain bacterial species have been identified as having beneficial and harmful effects on immunotherapy in the clinic. While a clear consensus has yet to emerge on the optimal species for therapeutic use, introducing a new microbiome into immunotherapy-refractory patients may boost their chances of responding to further treatment attempts. State-of-the-art interventions targeting the microbiome—such as fecal microbiota transplantation—are being assessed clinically for their safety and potential to enhance treatment outcomes, with promising results. Additionally, the microbiome has been leveraged for its power to predict clinical outcomes using machine learning, and surprisingly, its predictive capability is comparable to that of other described multi-biomarker clinical scores. Here, we discuss developing knowledge concerning the microbiome’s significance in cancer immunotherapy and outline future strategies for maximizing its potential in immuno-oncology.
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spelling doaj-art-aa42d2ae76984e5ea49d94211f1085c92025-08-20T03:05:44ZengBMJ Publishing GroupJournal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer2051-14262025-04-0113410.1136/jitc-2024-011281Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapyGiorgio Trinchieri0Maria A Clavijo-Salomon1Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research, Bethesda, Maryland, USALaboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research, Bethesda, Maryland, USAIn recent years, evidence has shown that the gut microbiome significantly influences responses to immunotherapy. This has sparked interest in targeting it to improve therapy outcomes and predictions of response and toxicity. Research has demonstrated that dysbiosis, often resulting from antibiotic use, can diminish the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors, and this lack of efficacy could be linked to systemic inflammation. Certain bacterial species have been identified as having beneficial and harmful effects on immunotherapy in the clinic. While a clear consensus has yet to emerge on the optimal species for therapeutic use, introducing a new microbiome into immunotherapy-refractory patients may boost their chances of responding to further treatment attempts. State-of-the-art interventions targeting the microbiome—such as fecal microbiota transplantation—are being assessed clinically for their safety and potential to enhance treatment outcomes, with promising results. Additionally, the microbiome has been leveraged for its power to predict clinical outcomes using machine learning, and surprisingly, its predictive capability is comparable to that of other described multi-biomarker clinical scores. Here, we discuss developing knowledge concerning the microbiome’s significance in cancer immunotherapy and outline future strategies for maximizing its potential in immuno-oncology.https://jitc.bmj.com/content/13/4/e011281.full
spellingShingle Giorgio Trinchieri
Maria A Clavijo-Salomon
Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
title Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy
title_full Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy
title_fullStr Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy
title_full_unstemmed Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy
title_short Unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy
title_sort unlocking the power of the microbiome for successful cancer immunotherapy
url https://jitc.bmj.com/content/13/4/e011281.full
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