Microbial Ecosystems Play a Big Role in the Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy
Significant strides have been made in leveraging checkpoint inhibitor therapy to combat a number of cancers over the recent years. However, not all malignancies respond to these therapies, and those that do often become resistant, or are discontinued due to adverse reactions within the immune system. Now, researchers have shown that gut microbiota are one of the key factors influencing the success of immunotherapy targeting PD-L1 and PD-1 gene expression. The study was published in the journal Cancer Biology and Medicine. The research team undertook a comprehensive review focused on seeking to understand how microbial ecosystems within the gut impact how patients respond to checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-L1 and PD-1. They analyzed clinical trials, preclinical studies and available multi-omics data to ascertain how bacterial…
