“This is a very dramatic result for a very simple and cheap intervention in a high-risk population,” Dr. Quigley said in his presentation at the meeting.
He also provided a short list of studies showing “exciting recent data” regarding the predictive role of microbiota.
In one such study, investigators showed that the oral microbiota associated with colorectal cancer is distinctive, raising the possibility that analyzing microbiota could help identify patients at risk for development of colon cancer or offer an alternative cancer screening method.
In other studies, Dr. Quigley said, microbiota have been associated with response to metformin, and to the immune checkpoint inhibitors that have become important in the treatment of cancers.