Can dietary fiber really fight cancer?

A new study published today by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the journal Science shows that patients with melanoma who reported eating more fiber-rich foods at the beginning of immunotherapy than patients with insufficient dietary fiber intake Live longer without cancer growth

"The research by our team and others has shown that gut microbes influence the response to immunotherapy, but the effects of diet and probiotic supplements have not been well studied," said Dr.

These patients who reported eating more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains reached the threshold of adequate fiber intake in the study

When the patients were further grouped according to the high- or low-fiber diet and the use of probiotic supplements, 18 (82%) of the 22 patients who reported adequate fiber intake and not using probiotics responded to immunotherapy

"Dietary fiber is important to intestinal health, just as it is important to overall health.

Differences between intestinal flora and preclinical models

The study first analyzed the gut microbiome of 438 melanoma patients, of which 321 had advanced disease and received systemic treatment, and 293 of them had an evaluable response to treatment after follow-up

The research team further confirmed their previous findings that in patients who respond to immunotherapy, rumen cocci and prusnitzii are more abundant, and these two bacteria are considered to be beneficial bacteria involved in fiber or starch digestion.

Researchers have also tested the use of high- and low-fiber diets and probiotics in several preclinical melanoma models, hoping to shed light on the underlying mechanism behind the observations from the patient cohort

Test the effects of dietary interventions based on the results of clinical trials

At present, based on the results of early research, a randomized clinical trial (NCT04645680) will be led by the co-first author and assistant professor of melanoma medical oncology Jennifer McQuade, MD, to study how a whole food diet with different fiber content affects the microbiome and immunity Response

“Our Innovative Microbiome and Translational Research Project (PRIME-TR) research team at MD Anderson is changing the treatment of cancer by modifying the microbiome

Article title

Dietary fiber and probiotics impact the gut microbiome and melanoma immunotherapy response