
Researchers discover the microbiome's role in attacking cancerous tumors - LinuxBender
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200813144920.htm
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sradman
The paper _Microbiome-derived inosine modulates response to checkpoint
inhibitor immunotherapy_ [1]:

> We found that intestinal B. pseudolongum modulated enhanced immunotherapy
> response through production of the metabolite inosine. Decreased gut barrier
> function induced by immunotherapy increased systemic translocation of
> inosine and activated anti-tumor T cells. The effect of inosine was
> dependent on T cell expression of the adenosine A2A receptor and required
> co-stimulation. Collectively, our study identifies a novel microbial
> metabolite-immune pathway that is activated by immunotherapy that may be
> exploited to develop microbial-based adjuvant therapies.

[1]
[https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/12/scie...](https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/12/science.abc3421)

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czbond
The findings are very interesting - who would one learn of the foods to eat to
create a positive gut bacteria environment?

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throwanem
To a good first approximation, this is the crux of Pollan's dictum: "Eat food.
Mostly plants. Not too much."

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faeyanpiraat
There must be more to it.

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throwanem
That's why I started out by saying "to a good first approximation".

I don't see a lot of value in the kinds of "quantified-self"
hyperoptimizations people always seem so anxious to go for around this.
Maintaining a good, healthy diet certainly isn't enough for everyone, and of
course I see why folks for whom that doesn't suffice go deeper. But if you're
starting anywhere else _but_ by investing in the habit of maintaining a good,
healthy diet, I think you're starting in the wrong place.

My experience has been that it is truly astonishing how much benefit can be
derived simply from the habit of eating well.

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saiya-jin
Completely agree, there is no point these days to go beyond basic regime of
eating healthy, exercising healthy, sleeping well, have good relationships,
not too stressful work and maybe few little personal extra things like
meditation or similar mood setter.

Each of these can be broken down to 1-2 levels of more details, but it doesn't
make sense to go deeper. Ie with food - lots of veggies, then bit of +-healthy
everything, ideally BIO, tasty, eat more in first half of the day etc.

The number of people who can consistently manage all of those to a good level
would be astonishingly small. But we all can try to cover as much as possible,
and it will be good enough for most for good healthy life.

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zensavona
Very cool how we are learning that the microbiome seems to play a significant
role in -so- many previously unexpected bodily processes.

Does anyone know of some other interesting findings to share?

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wonder_er
There's a long and fascinating story about cancer as a _metabolic disease_.
Turns 98% of modern cancer research on it's head.

I wish I could give a 200 word summary, but that would not do justice to the
decades of research behind this approach.

Instead, I direct you to a book that could well save your life or the life of
your friends and family: _Tripping Over the Truth: The Metabolic Theory of
Cancer_ [0]

[0]: [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23496164-tripping-
over-t...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23496164-tripping-over-the-
truth)

~~~
jp555
For comparison, what kinds of diseases are not metabolic?

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wonder_er
I'm not an expert in any means. I'm a software developer who has had some
friends died of cancer, and then two years ago I read "Tripping over the
Truth" and felt a sense of rage.

To take a stab at your question, at least in the context of cancer, cancer is
almost never seen as a "cell metabolism" problem, it's viewed as a "damaged
DNA" problem

Quoting from an article[0] that discusses the somatic vs. metabolic theories
of cancer. This is how the "somatic theory of cancer" describes the cancer
pathways:

> Cancer is caused by damage to DNA, which leads to damaged genes. Those
> genes, oncogenes, are responsible for the reproduction of cancer cell lines
> (which one could think of as multi-generation families), which grow
> unchecked to the point of being a tumor. Those tumors can be tested for
> damaged genes and will allegedly show those genes.

[0]: [https://colleenhuber.com/metabolic-theory-of-cancer-and-
comm...](https://colleenhuber.com/metabolic-theory-of-cancer-and-common-
misconceptions/)

~~~
jhbadger
As a cancer biologist, separating the metabolic from the somatic causes is
complicated. Yes, ultimately cancers arise from the replication of cells with
mutations in their DNA. But our immune system is on constant lookout for such
cells and kill them once identified. So in a sense cancer is a failure of the
immune system, and many things can depress the immune system, including
metabolism.

~~~
wonder_er
I appreciate your response! I'm a layperson, so I am the last person qualified
to give an informed response to your comment.

That said, I perceive a conceptual gap between your response, and my
understanding of the metabolic theory of cancer.

I believe this gap exists because the 'metabolism' piece refers not to _human_
metabolism, but cellular metabolism, specifically how mitochondria create
energy.

I would be thrilled and honored if you'd read "Tripping Over the Truth"[0],
but I know we all live in resource-constrained environments. You're not going
to read a book because a random person on HN suggested it.

Because of this, and the fact that I dislike even hinting at "do unpaid
labor", I am paying people to read this book.

I've allocated $5000 (5% of my pre-tax annual income when working, though I'm
on a sabbatical right now) to getting certain well-positioned individuals to
read _Tripping Over the Truth_ [1].

Not to force or coerce anyone into agreeing with me, but I find the general
theory to be so persuasive, I wonder if others might as well. I want _expert
insight_ into this topic.

Would you be willing to accept some of that "fund" and read the book? If,
after reading, you'd be willing to give me a paragraph of your commentary on
the book, I'd be eternally grateful.

I'd pay you $500 to read the book. If $500 isn't compelling, how about $1000?
I'd send half when you agree to reading it, half when done (paypal, venmo,
bitcoin, whatever).

I hope you're interested. My email is in my profile!

[0]: [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23496164-tripping-
over-t...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23496164-tripping-over-the-
truth)

[1]: [https://josh.works/mike-clayville-can-have-a-huge-impact-
on-...](https://josh.works/mike-clayville-can-have-a-huge-impact-on-cancer)

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sevencolors
I'm hopeful we can look back on our primitive cancer fighting days when we
simply take a booster shot for what ails us and we go back to work.

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m3kw9
Fast track this

