CAPhO Connections Podcast: Microbiome Matters: Gut Response and Its Impact on Cancer Immunotherapy
Could the secret to optimizing immunotherapy success lie in the gut flora? Emerging research reveals how the microbiome influences cancer treatment response, toxicity, and overall health outcomes. Join us as we explore how gut health, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and pharmacy practice are coming together to transform cancer care. Get ready to rethink the future of immunotherapy from the inside out!
Learning Objectives:
- Explore the influence of the gut microbiome on immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) efficacy, toxicity, and overall immuno-oncology outcomes, with a focus on emerging evidence.
- Evaluate the impact of gut-disrupting factors, including antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, and other medications on ICI treatment response and adverse events.
- Discuss current and emerging microbiome modulation strategies, such as dietary interventions, prebiotics, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplants, to enhance ICI outcomes and manage toxicity.
- Identify practical recommendations for oncology pharmacists to promote microbiome health through medication stewardship, dietary counseling, and collaboration with the care team to optimize ICI therapy.
About the Guest: Dr. Arielle Elkrief:
Dr. Arielle Elkrief MD, FRCPC is a clinician-scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM). She was recruited to the CRCHUM in 2023 and directs her research laboratory focused on the gut and tumor microbiome as a biomarker of response to immunotherapy. She is also co-Director of the CHUM Microbiome Centre where she leads microbiome-centered clinical trials combining microbiome interventions such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), prebiotics, and diet. In addition, she contributed to establishing the negative impact of antibiotics on immunotherapy activity in patients with cancer. She was recently awarded the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award and the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer-Melanoma Research Alliance Women in Melanoma Award.'