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The Gut’s Hidden Power: How the microbiota can enhance colorectal cancer treatment.
Immunotherapy has limited effectiveness in microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer (MSS-CRC). Combining immunotherapy with radiotherapy has potential to enhance therapeutic benefit, but other contributing factors are often overlooked. The gut microbiota is a complex system of microbes able to improve or diminish CRC treatment. It is largely misunderstood how it does this and the extent of its impacts on CRC treatment outcomes. Using an MSS-CRC mouse model this study investigated the efficacy of immunotherapy and radiotherapy as well as both in combination, and specifically the effect of antibiotic treatment to diminish the microbiota on these therapies' efficacy. They found reduced efficacy with antibiotic treatment, and identified Bacteroides fragilis and propionate as crucial factors that enhance therapy. They propose adjunct therapy with Bacteroides-containing probiotics or supplemental propionate as a mechanism to enhance established CRC therapeutics. This highlights the importance of understanding the microbiota’s extent of contribution to CRC and other cancers.
Source: https://rdcu.be/eA7zf