What Our Gut Bacteria Eat May Influence How Well Cancer Immunotherapy Works

Certain “unhealthy” diets seemed to boost cancer immunotherapy in mice and how it’s related to the gut microbiome.

A cancer drug enters the body with a job to do. But its success may depend partly on a bustling community far from the tumor — the microbes living in the digestive tract. And those microscopic residents have their own needs, starting with what’s on the menu.

That connection could help explain a puzzle that has intrigued cancer researchers for years. Why do some people with a higher body mass index respond better to certain immunotherapies?

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