In recent times, scientists have begun to understand the role played by bacteria in the human gut. There is increasing evidence that these bacteria live in harmony with humans and are essential to human health. It has recently been demonstrated that gut bacteria may help prevent cancer and improve anti-cancer treatment outcomes. Patients with cancer are at an increased risk of infection as a result of their poor physical health and reduced immunity as a result of chemotherapy treatment. The use of antibiotics has significantly reduced the number of deaths caused by infections in cancer patients. It should be noted, however, that antibiotics also have unwanted side effects that can damage gut...

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In recent times, scientists have begun to understand the role played by bacteria in the human gut. There is increasing evidence that these bacteria live in harmony with humans and are essential to human health. It has recently been demonstrated that gut bacteria may help prevent cancer and improve anti-cancer treatment outcomes. Patients with cancer are at an increased risk of infection as a result of their poor physical health and reduced immunity as a result of chemotherapy treatment. The use of antibiotics has significantly reduced the number of deaths caused by infections in cancer patients. It should be noted, however, that antibiotics also have unwanted side effects that can damage gut microbes that may be beneficial for cancer prevention. Based on our research in lymphoma patients, antibiotics should be avoided before using chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy since they cause damage to microbes, resulting in poorer responses to treatment and a reduction in the overall response rate. The use of antibiotics was also associated with increased toxicities in CAR-T therapy. Antibiotic use, however, is critical to preventing infections and infection-related deaths. Thus, a strategy that can overcome antibiotic-induced microbial damage would be beneficial to cancer patients. With our proposal, we propose to conduct a clinical trial that will resupply microbes in the gut in patients who have received antibiotics by fecal microbiota transplantation. If successful, the trial will not improve the response to CAR-T therapy but may serve as a model for the use of all immunotherapies in cancer patients.

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