Challenge Awards
Class of 2020

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Targeting the Host Microbiota to Reverse Therapeutic Resistance in Lethal Prostate Cancers

Principal Investigators: Johann de Bono, MD, PhD (Institute of Cancer Research), Andrea Alimonti, MD (Institute of Oncology Research)

Co-Investigators:  Silke Gillessen Sommer, MD (University of Italian Switzerland), Christina Yap, PhD (The Institute of Cancer Research), Arianna Calcinotto, PhD (Institute of Oncology Research), Christina Guo, MBBS (The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust), Bora Gurel, MD (The Institute of Cancer Research), Khobe Chandran, MBBS (The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust), Suzanne Carreira, PhD (The Institute of Cancer Research), Nicolo’ Pernigoni, MSc (Institute of Oncology Research), Pasquale Rescigno, MD (The Institute of Cancer Research)

Description: 

  • The microbiome are the community of microorganisms that live in symbiosis on the human host, such as the on the skin and along the gastrointestinal tract.  These microbes are critical for many aspects of normal human biology, such as aiding in food digestion and educating the immune system.
  • Perturbations in the microbiome, termed microbial dysbiosis, are associated with many diseases, including cancer.  Microbial dysbiosis appears to influence cancer progression and resistance to treatments, however the underlying biology of these effects is unclear.
  • Dr. Johann de Bono and team are studying the role of intestinal microbiota in prostate cancer.
  • In this project, Dr. de Bono and team will determine whether and how gut microbiota impact prostate cancer.
  • The team will develop a clinical assay to detect ‘unfavorable’ microbiota.
  • If successful, this project will determine the biology by which unfavorable microbes contribute to prostate cancer, and identify possible therapeutic strategies for reversing their impact.

What this means to patients:  Dr. de Bono and team are studying the biology of how ‘unfavorable’ gut microbes impact prostate cancer.  The team is also developing a test to identify patients with unfavorable microbes in order to better understand how these microbes impact outcomes, and how these microbes can be reduced with novel interventions.