Gut bacteria that can make cancer immunotherapy less effective
Official title: Adverse gut microbiome promotes resistance immune checkpoint inhibitors via chronic inflammation
Funded at University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr · NIH-11478145 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will see if reducing chronic inflammation driven by certain gut bacteria can help immunotherapy work better for people whose cancers have stopped responding.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $248,658 |
| NIH project number | 4R00CA296940-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11478145 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People whose cancers have stopped responding to immune checkpoint inhibitors—such as patients with refractory metastatic melanoma—would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not receiving immune checkpoint therapy, those whose cancers are not treated with ICIs, or people with contraindications to immune modulation are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers previously showed that changing the gut microbiome with fecal transplants helped some patients whose tumors were no longer responding to immune checkpoint inhibitors, with roughly 30% showing objective responses. This project will analyze patients' gut bacteria and immune signals in tumors to understand how an adverse microbiome causes ongoing inflammation that blocks immunotherapy. Because fecal transplants are hard to deliver widely, the team will test ways to mimic the microbiome's beneficial effects by directly reprogramming immune inflammation pathways. The work combines human sample analysis with experimental models to identify targetable inflammation signals that could be used alongside checkpoint inhibitors.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help more patients respond to checkpoint immunotherapy by reducing harmful gut-driven inflammation.
How similar studies have gone: Prior clinical work using fecal microbiota transplants produced promising clinical responses in ICI-refractory patients, so this builds on early but encouraging evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Baruch, Erez N — University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
- Study coordinator: Baruch, Erez N
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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.