ASCO 2026: Powerful evidence for the microbiome in oncology, with Dr Rahul Winayak

Can the state of someone’s gut microbiome – the balance of good and bad bacteria in their digestive tract – affect their response to cancer immunotherapy?

Preliminary evidence in the form of a pair of Phase 1 trials from City of Hope suggests that it could make quite a big difference, dramatically increasing response rate, disease control, and progression-free survival.

At ASCO, pharmaphorum EiC Jonah Comstock caught up with Dr Rahul Winayak, a post-doctoral fellow at City of Hope, who described the results of the trials and some early theories about why CBM-558, a live bacteria used in Japan to treat GI conditions, had such a profound effect in kidney cancer patients.

He shares the need for caution around early phase results, what he hopes to learn from future trials, and how the microbiome space is coming into its own because of data like these.

Tune in to learn more about what may well be the next big thing in immune-oncology.