Trial reportThoracic cancer2025
Dysbiosis in the Gut Microbiome of Pembrolizumab-Treated Non-Small Lung Cancer Patients Compared to Healthy Controls Characterized Through Opportunistic Sampling.
Trial report in Thoracic cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02705820 (A Phase II Study of Switch Maintenance Pembrolizumab in Patients With Non Small Cell Lung Cancer), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Phase II Study of Switch Maintenance Pembrolizumab in Patients With Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Who do Not Progress After First Line Platinum Doublet Chemotherapy. (SWIPE)
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Microbial Influence on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Non-Small Cell Carcinoma: The Gut-Lung-Immune Axis.Cancers · 2026Review
- Gut Microbiota Metabolic Reprogramming Drives Endocrine and Immune Resistance in Hormone-Dependent Cancers.Cancers · 2026Review
- Gut-lung axis in radiation-induced lung injury: mechanisms and interventions.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Dietary Supplementation With Yeast Cell Wall Modulates Gut Microbiota and SCFAs Production to Improve Intestinal Health in Adult Cats.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe gut microbiome influences the host immune system, cancer development and progression, as well as the response to immunotherapy during cancer treatment. Here, we analyse the composition of the gut bacteriome in metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving Pembrolizumab immunotherapy within a prospective maintenance trial through opportunistic sampling during treatment.
methodsThe gut microbiome profiles of NSCLC patients were obtained from stool samples collected during Pembrolizumab treatment and analysed with 16S rRNA metagenomics sequencing. Patient profiles were compared to a group of healthy individuals of matching ethnic group, age, sex, BMI and comorbidities.
resultsA significant decrease in the treated patients was observed in two prominent bacterial families of the phylum Firmicutes, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminoccocaceae, which comprised 31.6% and 21.8% of the bacteriome in the healthy group but only 10.9% and 14.2% in the treated patient group, respectively. Species within the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families are known to break down undigested carbohydrates generating short chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as butyrate, acetate and propionate as their major fermentation end-products, which have been implicated in modifying host immune responses. In addition, a significant increase of the Bacteroidacaeae family (Bacteroidetes phylum) was observed from 10.7% in the healthy group to 23.3% in the treated patient group. Moreover, and in agreement with previous studies, a decrease in the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio in the metastatic NSCLC Pembrolizumab-treated patients was observed.
conclusionThe observed differences indicate dysbiosis and a compromised intestinal health status in the metastatic NSCLC Pembrolizumab-treated patients. This data could inform future studies of immunotherapy treatment responses and modulation of the gut microbiome to minimise dysbiosis prior or concurrent to treatment.
trial registrationSWIPE Trial (NCT02705820).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.