Can gut bacteria be used to improve colon cancer treatment? To find the answer to this question, Prof. Wendy Garrett and Prof. Matthew Meyerson of the Harvard School of Public Health have just received a grant of £ 20million (nearly € 23million) from the Cancer research of Great Britain (Cancer research UK). At the head of a team of international researchers, they will analyze samples of microbiome from more than 17,500 patients, and to study how certain species of bacteria influence the development and tumor growth cancerous.
Scientists will also study how certain known cancer risk factors, such as diet, smoking and environmental exposure, affect the gut microbiome and how this may affect colon cancer risk.
The team also hopes to understand how the gut microbiome might alter the response to cancer treatments like immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Depending on the progress of their studies, the researchers hope to launch within 5 years one or more clinical trials for new treatments for colorectal cancer, which could include antibiotics, a vaccine or the introduction of bacteria. beneficial.
This five-year research program is part of the Grand Challenge launched by Cancer Research UK to tackle global cancer challenges.
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