Probiotics may shield cancer patients from Immunotherapy's gut woes
NCT ID NCT06508034
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether taking an over-the-counter probiotic (VSL#3® 450B) can prevent colitis (colon inflammation) and diarrhea in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy. Up to 45% of patients on these drugs develop this side effect. The trial enrolls adults with solid tumors who are starting or have recently started immunotherapy. The goal is to see if a simple probiotic can reduce this risk.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 12 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2024
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Male or female age ≥ 18 years * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤ 2 * Histologically confirmed solid malignancy * Will be starting on ICIs or have started ≤ 2 cycles of ICIs * For cohort 1: Ipilimumab with or without anti-PD-1/PD-L1 including but not limited to pembrolizumab, nivolumab, cemiplimab, atezolizumab, avelumab, or durvalumab * For cohort 2: Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 described above with or without chemotherapy * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1000/mm\^3 * Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mm\^3 * Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL * Creatinine ≤ 2 x upper limit of normal (ULN) * Serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) \[aspartate transaminase (AST)\] ≤ 2 x ULN * Albumin ≥ 3 g/dL * Willing and able to provide research stool and blood samples * Negative serum pregnancy test done ≤ 7 days prior to enrollment, for women of childbearing potential only * Capable of providing valid informed consent * Willing to return to enrolling institution for all study visits (blood draws, etc) Exclusion Criteria: * Requires prolonged systemic antibiotic therapy for other condition and recent systemic antibiotic within the past 2 weeks * Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) within the past 6 months * FMT with an associated serious adverse event related to the FMT product or procedure * Co-morbid systemic illnesses or other severe concurrent disease which, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient inappropriate for entry into this study or interfere significantly with the proper assessment of safety and toxicity of over-the-counter probiotics * Immunocompromised patients including patients known to be HIV positive or those on chronic steroids \> 20 mg prednisone a day or prednisone-equivalent Note: Must be off systemic steroids at least 90 days prior to enrollment. However, topical steroids, inhalants or steroid eye drops are permitted * History of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), e.g., ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, or microscopic colitis * History of chronic diarrhea * History of celiac disease * Currently has a colostomy * Intraabdominal surgery related to gastrointestinal tract within the last 60 days * Evidence of active, severe colitis * History of short gut syndrome or motility disorders * Requires the regular use of medications to manage bowel hypermotility * Active autoimmune disease that has required systemic treatment in the ≤ 30 days (i.e., with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids, or immunosuppressive drugs) prior to randomization. Note: Replacement therapy (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency) is not considered a form of systemic treatment. Patients with vitiligo, Graves' disease, or psoriasis not requiring systemic treatment within the past 30 days are not excluded
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Mayo Clinic in Florida
Jacksonville, Florida, 32224-9980, United States
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