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The use of a probiotic improves the treatment of liver cancer. The data of a work that is published today in «
Nature Medicine» shows that this live biotherapeutic, CBM588, added to an immunotherapy drug, nivolumab/ipilimumabsignificantly improved progression-free survival in patients with metastatic kidney cancer compared to the use of nivolumab/ipilimumab alone.
“To our knowledge, this is the first randomized clinical trial to show that a live bacterial product can modulate the gastrointestinal microbiome and improve response to immunotherapy in cancer patients,” said Sumanta K. Pal, Department of Medical Oncology and Research. therapeutic in
City of Hope (USA) and lead author of the study
For the researcher,
“These results may help improve treatment options for kidney cancer patients and is an important foundational step in generating more effective targeted therapies for cancer treatment.”
CBM588 is a non-pathogenic bacterium that has multiple documented beneficial effects on the human microbiome. It produces short-chain fatty acids (mainly butyric acid), a well-known source of energy for the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, and has immunomodulatory properties. The bacterial strain appears to exert additional beneficial effects, including inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms and helping to restore the gastrointestinal lining and decrease intestinal imbalance.
Last summer, this center granted an exclusive worldwide license to
Osel Inc.a company that develops live biotherapeutics for the modulation of the human microbiome, for the intellectual property on the novel use of CBM588 to improve the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors to treat cancer.
In this phase I clinical trial, 30 treatment-naïve patients with metastatic kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) were randomized to receive oral CBM588 in combination with nivolumab/ipilimumab or nivolumab/ipilimumab alone.
The now published data now show a significant improvement in progression-free survival in patients treated with CBM588 plus nivolumab/ipilimumab (12.7 months) compared to nivolumab/ipilimumab alone (2.5 months).
In addition, the use of CBM588 in combination therapy was associated with an increased response rate compared to the use of nivolumab/ipilimumab therapy alone (58% vs. 20%).
Although there was no significant difference between the treatment groups in the amount of bacteria of the genus Bifidobacterium, patients who responded to CBM588 with nivolumab/ipilimumab treatment had significant increases in Bifidobacterium species. There was no significant difference in reported treatment-related toxicity between the two groups.
“Over the last few years, the field of immunotherapy has been closely studying how the gastrointestinal microbiome can enhance the effectiveness of the immune checkpoint for cancer treatment,” says Thomas Parks, director of product development at Osel.
The authors conclude that their data appear to support the potential of CBM588 to improve outcomes for cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy. However, the results will need to be confirmed in larger studies and for additional tumor types.
