(NaturalPath) According to a study published online in Science Magazine, having the ideal microbiome can help with anticancer treatments. A new cancer treatment uses what is called “checkpoint inhibitors” and are having impressive results. Unfortunately, according to two mice studies, this treatment isn’t as effective if the individual doesn’t have the correct bacteria in their gut.
“Both of the papers show convincingly that microbes can affect the treatments,” said one researcher. They have looked elsewhere to see why a particular treatment wasn’t working, including examining genetics. They said the new results were encouraging because “it’s easier to change your gut microbiota than your genome.”
This treatment is important because the checkpoint inhibitors can shrink tumors and extend patients’ lives, sometimes by years. Yet only a fraction of recipients improve. About 20 percent of melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab live longer, for example. Researchers haven’t yet figured out what distinguishes them from the other 80 percent.
For more information, read the full study.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/11/gut-microbes-give-anticancer-treatments-boost
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.