Manipulating the gut and tumor microbiota for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: from dream to reality
- PMID: 37704493
- DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2023.08.004
Manipulating the gut and tumor microbiota for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: from dream to reality
Abstract
The past decade has witnessed a revolution in cancer treatment by shifting from conventional therapies to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). These immunotherapies unleash the host immune system against the tumor and have achieved unprecedented durable remission. However, 80% of patients do not respond. This review discusses how bacteria are unexpected drivers that reprogram tumor immunity. Manipulating the microbiota impacts on tumor development and reprograms the tumor microenvironment (TME) of mice on immunotherapy. We anticipate that harnessing commensals and the tumor microbiome holds promise to identify patients who will benefit from immunotherapy and guide the choice of new ICI combinations to advance treatment efficacy.
Keywords: antibiotics; commensal; fecal microbiota transplantation; immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy; predictive biomarker; probiotics; tumor microbiota.
Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of interests G.M. has received honoraria from MERCK and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) for lectures on this topic. P.H. has received honoraria from AstraZeneca, BMS, MSD, Lilly, Bayer, Pfizer, ThermoFisher Scientific, Roche, Illumina, Novartis, Biocartis, Janssen, Qiagen, and AbbVie for lectures, consulting fees, and advisory board membership. L.Z. has held research contracts with GSK, Incyte, Lytix, Kaleido, Innovate Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Pilege, Merus, Transgene, 9 m, Tusk, and Roche. L.Z. was on the Board of Directors of Transgene, is a cofounder of EverImmune, and holds patents covering the treatment of cancer and the therapeutic manipulation of the microbiota. N.G., B.R., S.S.M., P.B., and B.M. declare no conflicts of interest.
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