NL
DE
Immunotherapy is a new treatment strategy for cancer, and aims to activate the patient’s own immune system to kill cancer cells. In patients with metastatic melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, immunotherapy has shown to be of benefit for about half of the patients, inducing long-lasting cancer control and possibly even cure.
Unfortunately, the other half of patients do not benefit from immunotherapy and survival can be poor. Response to immunotherapy in patients with melanoma is related to the bacteria present in their gut. Bacteria that play an active role in the degradation of dietary fibers seem to have the strongest link with response to immunotherapy. Animal studies show that response to immunotherapy can be improved by increasing dietary fiber intake.
The aim of this project is to induce a favorable change in the gut bacteria of patients with metastatic melanoma to improve the chance of benefit from immunotherapy. To reach this aim, the patient’s regular diet will be supplemented with extra fibers during standard-of-care immunotherapy. We will perform a clinical study in which patients with metastatic melanoma scheduled to start with immunotherapy will receive either extra fibers to supplement their regular diet or a placebo.
World Cancer Research Fund
The project is funded by the World Cancer Research Fund International/Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds and awarded to Kalijn Bol (Medical Oncologist at the Radboudumc). The grant entails €419k to perform the clinical trial with the help of a PhD candidate. The project will entail a strong collaboration with Dieuwertje Kok (Human Nutrition & Health) and Erwin Zoetendal (Microbiology) of the Wageningen University.
