Poo Transplant Could Restore Normal Microbiome, Help Blood Cancer Survivors

A new study is testing the potential of poo transplants to help patients who survive bone marrow transplants. According to recent research, human waste can potentially treat cancer survivors with chronic post-operative illnesses.

Developing GVHD After a Bone Marrow Transplant

Patients with specific types of cancer and other blood problems can be treated with bone marrow transplants. Since bone marrow is the tissue that produces blood cells, restoring this tissue can help the patient's blood have a healthy cell population again.

Yet, because bone marrow is in charge of producing white blood cells, the body's biological SWAT team, the transplantation inadvertently gives the patient a completely new immune system, which can fail to recognize the cells of its new host at times, leading to the patient's healthy cells being attacked, a condition called Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD).

GVHD is a common complication patients experience after a bone marrow transplant, Andrea Henden, the study's lead author, told Newsweek. When GVHD develops soon after a bone marrow transplant, it is referred to as "acute" and can impact the skin, lungs, intestines, and liver.

According to Henden, the condition occurs in the institution between 25% and 30% of the time. GVHD is referred to as chronic when it develops more than 100 days [after the procedure] later and can impact up to 70% of bone marrow transplant recipients. Any organ in the body is susceptible to it.

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Poo Transplant for GVHD

Immunosuppressive medications are typically at the heart of traditional GVHD therapy. They, however, make the patients susceptible to other illnesses and frequently fall short of curing the illness.

It's unclear what causes a patient to be susceptible to GVHD. Recent research, however, has established a direct link between the condition and the health of the patient's gut's indigenous microorganisms.

A severely aberrant, or dysbiotic, microbiome is brought on by the chemotherapy and antibiotics that are administered as part of a bone marrow transplant, according to Henden. Fecal microbial transplant (FMT) is a strategy that could re-establish a more normal microbiome, the lead researcher added. They believed that this dysbiosis contributes to GVHD.

Harsh medical procedures like chemotherapy and antibiotics can harm our microbiomes. After they have been diminished, restoring them to their original, healthy levels might be challenging.

Transferring gut bacteria between individuals is one strategy to restore a healthy population of gut microbiomes. This is accomplished through an FMT or poo transplant.

FMT is expected to encourage bacteria with protective qualities and shift the balance away from a predominance of harmful microbes by restoring a more healthy and diverse gut microbiome, according to Henden. Although the precise method by which it is useful has not yet been established, it may also repair the gut's barrier function, which is also harmed by chemotherapy.

Research on the microbiome is still in its infancy, and knowledge of how to apply this therapeutic approach is still developing. According to Henden, there is growing evidence that the microbiome and dysbiosis have a role in the effectiveness of different cancer immunotherapies and other immune-driven gastrointestinal disorders like inflammatory bowel disease.

The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Microbiome Project and the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital Foundation have partnered to conduct the trial. It will also seek to identify the precise microbial species that are reducing GVHD symptoms to develop more efficient, focused treatments.