Prebiotic food plan to boost gut bacteria and immunotherapy for melanoma
Prebiotic diet intervention to enhance the microbiome and immunotherapy response in melanoma
This project tries a prebiotic food-focused diet alongside standard immunotherapy to help people with metastatic melanoma by improving their gut bacteria and treatment response.
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-11167700 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you have metastatic melanoma and are receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, this project will add a prebiotic food-enriched diet plus nutritional counseling to your usual care. The study team will provide prebiotic foods and guidance designed to feed beneficial gut microbes and will collect stool, blood, and clinical data during treatment to track changes. Researchers will monitor treatment responses and immune-related side effects to see whether the diet improves outcomes or lowers toxicities. The diet is designed to be practical and sustainable so patients can follow it while undergoing cancer therapy.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults with metastatic melanoma who are starting or receiving standard-of-care immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy and who can follow a prescribed prebiotic food plan.
Not a fit: Patients not receiving immunotherapy, those with medical conditions or severe dietary restrictions that prevent following the prebiotic diet, or people with other active cancers may not receive benefit from this intervention.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could increase the likelihood that immunotherapy works and reduce immune-related side effects for people with melanoma.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research links gut bacteria and diet to immunotherapy response and small studies suggest microbiome changes can affect outcomes, but large randomized trials of prebiotic diets in melanoma are still limited.
Where this research is happening
Houston, United States
- University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr — Houston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Daniel-Macdougall, Carrie — University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
- Study coordinator: Daniel-Macdougall, Carrie
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.