‘Poop pills’ tested in pancreatic cancer patients

A research team at Canada’s Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph’s Health Care London and the London Health Sciences Center Research Institute (LHSCRI) is readying a two-year Phase I safety trial in which a small group of cancer patients will receive fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)—aka “poop pills.” Although the less-than-appetizing supplements are still in their early stages of development, the innovative approach has already shown promise in boosting recovery chances for other forms of cancer like melanoma.

Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to treat, and is responsible for around 8 percent of all cancer deaths.It also has one of the lower longterm survival rates with only about 13 percent of patients surviving more than five years. Part of this is due to the ecosystems surrounding cancerous tumors, which possess their own microbial communities that include fungi, viruses, and bacteria. These systems can make certain cancers more resistant to chemotherapy regimens. In recent years, researchers began wondering if altering these microbial populations could make tumors more receptive to existing treatment options.

Fecal transplants as a medical tool aren’t new. In fact, increasing evidence suggests poop-based medications may improve people’s resilence against superbugs and other dangerous health problems. Since the FDA’s approval of the first fecal transplant pills in 2023, many experts are hopeful that adapting it and similar innovations could help treat particularly resistant cancers.

Fecal microbiota transplantation isn’t nearly as gross as it sounds. First, stool samples are collected from prescreened health donors before being processed in a lab. During the standard procedure, the stool is filtered for its helpful bacterial contents while the remaining material is discarded. The resulting odorless and tasteless solution is packed into LND101 capsules, The pancreatic cancer patients will take the pills on a specific dosage calendar. From there, experts will study how the gut biomes of trial volunteers change over time, and how that may affect their overall immune systems while battling cancer.

“Our goal is to determine whether a successful shift in the gut microbiome is connected to a better response to chemotherapy,” study co-lead Saman Maleki said in St. Joseph’s Health Care London profile on February 26.

According to trial collaborator Seema Nair Parvathy, earlier studies indicate fecal microbiota transplantation has helped improve outcomes for patients with advanced lung, renal cell, and skin cancers. But the team stressed their clinical studies are only possible through the help of poop donors. As they enter trials, researchers are seeking volunteers between the ages of 18 and 50 who haven’t taken antibiotics in at least six months, are not immunocompromised, and do not have chronic gastrointestinal disorders.