Start date: 2025
Award: £62,115
Status: Active
What issue does this study address?
Surgery is the main treatment for colon cancer in most patients. Treatment of cancer of the rectum, which is the last part of our large bowel, is complex. Patients may need chemotherapy and radiotherapy before surgery to shrink the cancer for safe removal. In some cases, radiotherapy can make cancer disappear. However, there is a risk that in these cases cancers can grow back. These patients are monitored closely with frequent camera tests and scans.
Trillions of bacteria and microbes in our guts make up the microbiome. Each person’s gut hosts unique bacteria and microorganisms. Our microbiome has many functions, like defending us against harmful microbes and digesting dietary fibre. Early research suggests that the microbiome may also affect how anticancer treatments work.
What are the aims and how could this work help people with rectal cancer?
The research team will study if the microbiome impacts how effective radiotherapy is at treating rectal cancer and help doctors predict which patients will benefit from it. Then, they can personalise treatment for patients. The research team will investigate if the gases produced by gut microbiome can be used to identify cases where cancers have grown back in the rectum. This can reduce the need for frequent invasive camera tests and diagnose cancer regrowth early.
Research shows diet can change our microbiome. The research team want to study if providing a high fibre diet before bowel surgery can change the microbiome with protective bacteria that produce substances that improve gut health. This can improve recovery of patients having surgery and reduce complications.
The research team
This project will be led by Mr Muhammad Javed, a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool.