News
Dispatches from the microbial frontier of cancer research
As scientists catalog the microbial life living inside our gut, on our skin and in every nook and cranny of our body, disease researchers are hoping to use this collection of creatures — our microbiome — to find better ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer. We...
Interplay Between Oncomicrobes, the Microbiota and the Immune System: Impact on Responses to Cancer Immunotherapy
Cancer immunotherapies harness the power of the immune system to target cancer cells that express tumor-associated antigens. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as monoclonal antibodies against inhibitory T cell receptors, i.e., PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4, allow cancer...
Intersection of Diet, Intestinal Microbiota, and Their Metabolites on Cancer Prevention
The gut microbiota has emerged as an important regulator of health and disease. Diet is arguably the most important environmental factor shaping the composition and activity of the gut microbiome. The last decade has brought us greater understanding of the impact of...
Researchers are working to unravel the links between diet, microbiota, and cancer immunotherapy response
A growing body of evidence links the microbiome, which can be altered by diet, with response to cancer immunotherapy. A more difficult task is teasing out the mechanism by which diet might be used to improve immunotherapy outcomes. “When we think of tumor response to...
Microbiome and Cancer Symposium
Research at the intersection of the microbiome and cancer at the University of Minnesota After a successful inaugural event, we are proud to bring back the Microbiome and Cancer Symposium in 2022. The goal of this meeting is to showcase the exciting research at the...
Studies reveal new insights into gut microbiome impact on immunotherapy response in multiple cancers
Two studies led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that shed new light on the potential of the gut microbiome as a targetable biomarker to improve responses to immunotherapy were presented today at the 2022 American Society for Clinical Oncology...
Researchers propose widespread banking of stool samples for fecal transplants later in life
Changes in the way that humans live and eat have resulted in tremendous alterations in the gut microbiome, especially over the past few decades. These changes have been linked to increased rates of asthma, allergies, diseases of the digestive system, type 2 diabetes,...
Microbial link between Western-style diet and incidence of colorectal cancer uncovered
New research builds the case that a Western-style diet -- rich in red and processed meat, sugar and refined grains/carbohydrates -- is tied to higher risk of colorectal cancer through the intestinal microbiota. Investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital with...
Intratumor microbiome in cancer progression: current developments, challenges and future trends
The human body comprises a mixture of mammalian and microbial cells, with the latter exceeding the former by nearly tenfold. The microbial genetic repertoire is approximately 100-fold more abundant than that of the human host. Beyond bacteria, the human commensal...
