A new study shows that oral fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a feasible and safe addition to preventing graft-versus-host disease in patients undergoing stem cell transplantation for blood cancers.
The study, published Jan. 25 in Nature Communications, is part of a phase 2 clinical trial led by clinicians at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. The study builds on earlier research of the role of the gut microbiome in helping patients recover after stem cell transplantation.
“The gut microbiome is an organ in itself, and it is connected to the immune system,” said lead author Armin Rashidi, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at Fred Hutch. “Since the process of stem cell transplantation damages the gut microbiome, we want to see if FMT will help restore microbial diversity and promote the beneficial bacterial species that support a healthy immune system.”
