Microbial metabolites and other biomarkers in melanoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Biomarkers for response and toxicity in melanoma patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors with focus on the role of microbial metabolites
IRAS ID
325855
Contact name
Alberto Fusi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Immunotherapy has been proved to be a very effective treatment for melanoma. The most common immunotherapeutic agents are called immune checkpoints inhibitors and they work by boosting the normal immune system and by restoring immune processes which get blocked when cancer develops. These drugs boost all the immune cells, not only the ones that attack the cancer. An overactive immune system following treatment with checkpoint inhibitors can damage the organs affected and this can be serious.
At the moment we do not have a way to predict either response or toxicity to immunotherapy. There are however some indications that the individual microbiome (ie the collection of all microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their genes, that naturally live in our bodies) and some liquid markers related to the immune system which can be detected in blood may have a role.
With this study we aim to evaluate a panel of immunological biomarkers and microbial metabolites in blood and stool samples of patients with melanoma receiving immunotherapy. This help to identify patients most likely to respond to treatment or most likely to develop toxicity.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NE/0115
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion