In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers describe how gut bacteria can predict melanoma recurrence risk. Uysuk, Hayes and others at NYU’s Department of Population Health studied 674 patients around the world in a trial called CheckMate 915. Patients from North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Australia, and elsewhere submitted stool samples following surgical resection of their melanomas. The patients then received either a combination of immunotherapies, nivolumab and ipilimumab, or nivolumab alone. When the researchers analyzed outcomes according to patients’ pre-treatment gut microbiomes (regardless of where the patients lived or the treatments received), the team identified four groups (“taxa”) of bacteria associated with increased cancer recurrence: Eubacterium, Ruminococcus, Firmicutes, and Clostridium the bacteria associated with cancer recurrence rates. The presence of these bacteria proved to be good predictors of recurrence risk, and might be clinically useful in the future by allowing for better personalized treatment and monitoring plans. To read more click here https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(26)00342-9