The possible connection between the success of cancer treatment and intestinal microbiome
For the treatment of cancer, various treatment methods are available, such as Chemo – or radiation therapy. The treatment also depends on the type of tumour. The course of therapy differs from person to person. It might have to do, according to researchers with the gut microbiome to.
Cancer patients and patients respond differently well to therapies. The success of classical methods of treatment are, may be based on the composition of the Multiple in the intestine. On results of researchers from Jena, Germany, and Hong Kong suggest. For their study, the experts examined eight different types of cancer.
Efficiency is often not as high as desired
According to a notice from the Leibniz-Institute for natural product research and infection biology – Hans-Knöll-Institute (HKI) in the world approximately every sixth death in connection with a cancer disease.
Among the most well-known therapy methods, chemotherapy and immune therapy. The effect of these treatments relies on the fact that cancer cells divide more or the immune system is supported, the killing tumor cells.
However, despite the nowadays well-developed anti-cancer therapies the efficiency is often not as high as desired.
The gut microbiome could play for the success of therapy, an important role
“All the data suggest that the intestinal microbiome, the totality of all the microorganisms that live in our gut, plays for the success of the therapy an important role”, explains Gianni Panagiotou from the Leibniz-Institute for natural product research and infection biology in Jena.
With his Team of scientists stool samples analyzed multiple cancer patients treated with chemotherapy or a combination of Chemo – and immunotherapy. Their results the researchers published in the journal “Microbiome”.
Although the experimental group was with patients with eight different cancer types small, managed the scientists at the chair of analysis, some common features can be noted:
“The gut micro-biomes of cancer patients who responded well to therapy, have a greater microbial diversity. Also, your in the intestinal occurring species of Bacteria differ from those of patients who responded less well to therapy measures,“ says Panagiotou.
In patients with treatment success of the species were found in Bacteroides ovatus and Bacteroides xylanisolvens increased, whereas Clostridium symbiosum and Ruminococcus gnavus increased in patients occurred, in which the anti-cancer therapy has been less successful.
Probability of a successful anti-cancer treatment to be calculated
Using the findings, the researchers developed a machine-Learning based around Panagiotou prediction model: It should allow, in future, to calculate at the start of therapy, the probability of a successful anti-cancer treatment, regardless of the type of cancer.
After the scientists fed the model with the already collected data, tested the accuracy of the predictions on the basis of a comparison group. At the time of Verification, the model showed a high prediction accuracy.
“However, our comparison group was small. Our next task is therefore to confirm the previous results by a larger number of comparison data,“ said Panagiotou.
Together with numerous colleagues of the expert at the Jena cluster of excellence Balance of the micro researched verses the mechanisms by which micro-biomes and their environment interact. (ad)