Studies linking the gut microbiome composition to efficacy of cancer therapy. The table summarizes major findings from clinical and preclinical studies pointing to a link between gut bacteria and therapeutic outcomes in the context of various cancers and therapeutic regimens

Major findingMouse or Human dataCancer/TherapyReference
Chemotherapy with immunostimulatory properties
 Akkermansia muciniphila abundance in baseline stool samples was associated with response to ICBMouseVarious cancer models/Cyclophosphamide immunostimulatory chemotherapy[86]
 Presence of intratumoral gammaproteobacteria was associated with resistance to gemcitabine chemotherapyHuman; MousePancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma/ Gemcitabine immunostimulatory chemotherapy[94]
Immunotherapy
 Commensal microbiota was required for optimal response to therapyMouseVarious cancer models/ CpG-oligonucleotide + anti-IL-10R antibody and platinum chemotherapy (oxaliplatin)[85]
 Total body irradiation disrupted intestinal barrier and improved outcome of T-cell based therapy by a mechanism dependent on LPS/microbe translocation and TLR4 signalingMouseMelanoma/Adoptive T cell transfer[97]
 Eubacterium limosum abundance was associated with decreased risk of relapse or disease progressionHumanHematologic cancers/Allo-HSCT[88]
 Blautia abundance was associated with increased overall survival and reduced risk of GVHDHumanHematologic cancers/Allo-HSCT[87]
 Bacteroides abundance was associated with resistance to ICB-induced colitisHumanMetastatic melanoma/Anti-CTLA-4[93]
 Bacteroides abundance was associated with response to ICBMouse; HumanMetastatic melanoma/Anti-CTLA-4[18]
 Bifidobacterium abundance was associated with improved spontaneous anti-tumor immunity and response to ICBMouseMelanoma/Anti-PD-L1[17]
 Faecalibacterium and other Firmicutes abundance in baseline stool samples was associated with response to ICB; Bacteroides abundance was associated with poor responsiveness to ICBHumanMetastatic melanoma/Anti-CTLA-4[92]
 Bacteroides caccae, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Holdemania filiformis, and Dorea formicogenerans were associated with response to ICBHumanMetastatic melanoma/Anti-PD-1; Anti-CTLA-4[91]
 A. muciniphila abundance in baseline stool samples was associated with response to ICBHuman; MouseNon-small cell lung cancer; Renal cell carcinoma/Anti-PD-1[89]
 Higher microbiome richness, Clostridiales, Ruminococcaceae, and Faecalibacterium abundance, and enrichment in genes involved in anabolic pathways in baseline stool samples were associated with responsiveness to ICBHuman; MouseMetastatic melanoma/Anti-PD-1[90]
 Several dozen bacterial species in baseline stool samples were differentially enriched between patients with strong vs. poor responsiveness to ICBHuman; MouseMetastatic melanoma/Anti-PD-1[44]