The number of new cancer diagnoses in the Netherlands is expected to rise considerably to 156,000 diagnoses a year in the coming next ten years, due to our ageing population and changing lifestyle factors. This increase in the coming ten years is largely inevitable, but commitment to preventative measures and improvement in diagnoses and treatment is urgent (Cancer in the Netherlands; trends & prognoses till 2032).

In the proposed exploratory research project, we will investigate whether the composition of the gut microbiota in cancer patients undergoing treatment with different forms of chemotherapy differs and can be modulated by means of specialized nutrition. We hypothesize that the baseline microbiome of patients with various types of cancer may inform/predict response to chemotherapies and specific biotics intervention. Probiotics and prebiotic fibers can stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria and stimulate the production of beneficial microbial metabolites (e.g. short-chain fatty acids).
We will perform a prove-of-concept intervention study to test the hypothesis that the microbiome of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy can be modulated and that this will improve therapy response, nutritional status, quality of life, recovery and overall prognosis cancer patients and may alleviate symptoms of both the disease and treatment