Chemotherapy’s “unexpected weapon” against cancer: gut microbes may help curb metastasis
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابA new study suggests chemotherapy can trigger a beneficial, indirect anti-metastatic effect by reshaping the gut microbiome and boosting production of a microbial metabolite linked to immune reprogramming and reduced metastatic growth, particularly in the liver in preclinical colorectal cancer models.
Published in Nature Communications, the research reports that standard-of-care 5-FU and oxaliplatin can durably rewire gut bacteria to produce indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), a tryptophan-derived metabolite that targets myeloid development in the bone marrow, reduces immunosuppressive monocyte output, and supports anti-tumor CD4+ T-cell activity.
The authors describe a lasting “metastasis-refractory” state, or “chemomemory,” observed after drug clearance in mouse models. A University of Lausanne summary also notes patient-linked signals consistent with clinical relevance, including associations between higher post-chemotherapy IPA levels and lower monocyte abundance tied to improved outcomes.
