Cancer immunotherapy has been shown to provide individuals with an excellent new type of treatment and is commonly used world-wide. 

Unfortunately, we know that not everyone will respond to their immunotherapy treatment in the same way. Currently, we are unable to determine whether or not an individual will have a positive response to immunotherapy treatment or not. Not to mention, the cost of this type of treatment is significant, both physcially and financially – with just one year of treatment costing approximately $150,000 AUD and only 30% of people with melanoma having any sort of response. 

Studies have shown that responses to immunotherapy may be affected by an individuals microbiome, known as the community of bacteria that live in our bowel. Depending on the conditions you have in your body, this group of bacteria can produce white cells known as T cells to fight infection or regulate the immune system. This is important because the effectiveness of cancer treatment depends on having the right balance of these T cells.

This study aims to analyse the bacteria in the gut, to find new biomarkers for immunotherapy in patients with melanoma. Identifying this biomarker will allow for rapid identification of individuals who will not respond to treatment, with the aim of overcoming immunotherapy resistance all together.