Gut bacteria and immunotherapy outcomes in advanced kidney cancer
Gut Microbiome and Cancer Immunotherapy Outcomes in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
This project compares people’s gut bacteria to their responses and side effects from immunotherapy for advanced kidney cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11284115 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, you would provide stool and blood samples before treatment and during follow-up so researchers can profile your gut bacteria using 16S sequencing and measure immune markers in the blood. The team will link those bacterial patterns and functions to whether immunotherapy helps you, causes side effects, or how long the cancer stays controlled. They will compare samples over time and validate findings in additional patient groups to see which signals are reliable.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma who are starting or receiving immunotherapy and who can provide stool and blood samples and follow-up information are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People with early-stage kidney cancer not treated with immunotherapy, or those unable or unwilling to provide biological samples, are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help predict who will benefit from immunotherapy and who may suffer serious side effects, allowing more personalized treatment decisions for advanced kidney cancer patients.
How similar studies have performed: Related research has shown promising links between the gut microbiome and immunotherapy response in cancers like melanoma and lung cancer, but this approach is still relatively new for kidney cancer.
Where this research is happening
Houston, United States
- University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr — Houston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fedirko, Veronika — University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
- Study coordinator: Fedirko, Veronika
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.