Scientists at Lawson Research Institute (Lawson) of St. Joseph’s Health Care London and London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) are the first in the world to study fecal transplants using capsules containing microbes from the gut of healthy volunteers to improve the response of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer to chemotherapy. 

Pancreatic carcinoma

Source: MBq at German Wikipedia

CT scanner section, after intravenous injection of a contrast medium, showing an adenocarcinoma cancer tumour at the head of the pancreas.

“Pancreatic cancer has a poor survival rate of approximately 10 per cent over five years and is expected to be the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Canada in the next few years,” says Dr. John Lenehan, Scientist at LHSCRI and Medical Oncologist at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). “Through this study, we aim to offer a new, innovative treatment to patients.” 

Research has shown that cancerous tumours have their own community of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that helps the cancer defend itself from conventional treatments like chemotherapy. Early preclinical studies suggest that fecal transplants delivered via the innovative capsules - known as LND101 - could alter the microbial composition of the tumour and make it more receptive to conventional therapy.  

Administering FMT capsules to pancreatic cancer patients

In this new Phase I safety trial, the research team will test the treatment over two years in a small group of cancer patients recruited from the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at LHSC. The process, called fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), involves taking stool from carefully screened healthy donors, processing it in the lab, and creating tasteless, odourless capsules, which are provided to patients participating in the study. The goal is to enhance the patient’s microbiome (the collection of healthy microorganisms in the human body) which will boost the body’s immune response and potentially make chemotherapy more effective. 

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“We will study how the gut bacteria of pancreatic cancer patients change after treatment with fecal transplants using the capsules and how this affects their immune system. Our goal is to determine whether a successful shift in the gut microbiome is connected to a better response to chemotherapy,” says Saman Maleki, PhD, Scientist at LHSCRI.  

Previous success in other cancers

The LND101 pills were pioneered and are produced at Lawson and are showing promise in the treatment of various cancers, including melanoma, through studies at Lawson and LHSCRI. The trailblazing FMT team at St. Joseph’s is led by Lawson Scientist Dr. Michael Silverman, Medical Director of the Infectious Diseases Care Program, and Lawson Associate Scientist Seema Nair Parvathy, PhD. 

“Earlier studies led by Lawson and LHSCRI have demonstrated that the treatment is safe in other cancers and appears to result in better responses to conventional therapies among patients with advanced melanoma, lung cancer and renal cell carcinoma,” says Parvathy, Research Director of the FMT program at St. Joseph’s. “We hope to achieve similar success with patients who have advanced pancreatic cancer.”  

Parvathy emphasizes the critical role of poop donors in this groundbreaking field of cancer research. 

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