Preliminary data suggest that a certain pattern of gut microbes may be useful in predicting which patients with advanced gastric cancer are likely to benefit from treatment with the immunotherapy nivolumab (Opdivo).
Researchers have demonstrated bacterial invasion of the epithelial cell pathway in the gut microbiome and suggest that this could potentially become a novel biomarker.
"In addition, we found gastric cancer–specific gut microbiome predictive of responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors," said study author Yu Sunakawa, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Clinical Oncology at the St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
Sunakawa presented the study's results during the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (GICS) 2021, which was held online this year.
The gut microbiome holds great interest as a potential biomarker for response. Previous studies suggested that it may hold the key to immunotherapy responses. The concept has been demonstrated in several studies involving patients with melanoma, but this is the first study in patients with gastric cancer.
Nivolumab monotherapy has been shown to provide a survival benefit with a manageable safety profile in previously treated patients with gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, Sunakawa noted. However, fewer than half of patients responded to therapy.
