The Gut Microbiome and Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

The introduction of targeted therapy (TT) and immuno-oncology (IO) agents have revolutionized the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). However, despite the significant improvements in survival and clinical response yielded by these agents, a significant percentage of patients still experience progressive disease. Evidence now suggests that microorganisms living in the gut (i.e., the gut microbiome) could be used as a biomarker for response and may also have utility in increasing response to these treatments. In this review, we present an overview of the role of the gut microbiome in cancer and its potential implications in the treatment of mRCC.