Gut bacteria boost: could a probiotic help standard cancer drugs work better?

NCT ID NCT05122546

First seen Jan 11, 2026 · Last updated Jun 20, 2026 · Updated 22 times

Summary

This early-phase trial is testing whether adding a probiotic called CBM588 to the usual combination of cabozantinib and nivolumab can improve gut bacteria and potentially help treat advanced kidney cancer. The study involves 31 patients with metastatic or unresectable kidney cancer. Researchers will measure changes in the gut microbiome and look for any signs of tumor shrinkage.

Disclaimer Read more

This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for METASTATIC RENAL CELL CARCINOMA are added.

Our safety recommendation!

By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • City of Hope Medical Center

    Duarte, California, 91010, United States

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance

CBM588 (a probiotic bacteria), cabozantinib (a targeted therapy), and nivolumab (an immunotherapy)

What this could lead to

If it works, this could show that adding a probiotic to standard therapy improves gut health and boosts the immune system's ability to fight kidney cancer.

What could go wrong

This is a very early, small phase 1 pilot study with only 31 participants. It is designed mainly to see if the probiotic changes gut bacteria, not yet to prove it helps cancer. The combination may cause side effects from the drugs or probiotic.

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

clear cell renal carcinoma Clear-cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma renal cell carcinoma

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.