ASCO EXPERT Peter Paul Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO, commented on the implications of the study presented by Zhao et al. Dr. Yu is Physician-in-Chief at the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute.

“Tumor microbiome studies are at the cutting edge of precision medicine metabolomics,” Dr. Yu stated. “Hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC] is a rare cancer in most parts of the United States, but there are notable sites in the United States where a significant number of these patients are seen. HCC has a much higher prevalence in Asia, and so, U.S. regions that are part of the Pacific Rim and have substantial populations who have immigrated there will see patients with HCC, as will liver transplant centers throughout the United States. Immune checkpoint inhibitors can be used to treat HCC,” he explained.

Peter Paul Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO

“Zhao et al reported that responders and nonresponders to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies differed in their gut microbiota. Clostridium species were enriched in immune checkpoint inhibitor responders,” Dr. Yu continued.

Related Session

The microbiome is an important area of investigation, and Dr. Yu pointed out that a separate session—Impact of the Microbiome on Cancer Care—was included as part of the 2023 ASCO Breakthrough meeting. During that session, he noted, “Dr. Thomas Gajewski, of the University of Chicago, described murine avatar models that study the role of gut microbiota on immune effector and regulatory T cells. In patients with melanoma, the gut microbiome differs between responders and nonresponders to immune checkpoint inhibitors, observations that are replicated in the mice avatars. The gut microbiota profile is passed through generations of mice, and transfer of gut microbiota from responders to nonresponders and vice versa correlates with response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Most significantly, attention is shifting to the metabolites produced by gut microbiota, which may be more important than the dominant bacterial species in the gut,” Dr. Yu suggested. 

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Yu reported that he owns stock in Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Danaher.