Cancer treatment using poop boosted by $1M donation
Article content
A $1-million donation from London philanthropists Andy and Helen Spriet will help a London researcher developing an unconventional cancer treatment that uses human feces.
The couple’s donation to the London Health Sciences Foundation will help establish an immuno-oncology research program at LHSC’s London Regional Cancer Program.
The research is led by Dr. Saman Maleki, a translational immuno-oncology scientist who conducted one of the first fecal microbiota transplants – planting poop from a healthy donor into a recipient – in London in 2019. The treatment is combined with immunotherapy, an area of growing interest.
“As an engineer and architect, I have always loved the excitement of building something,” Andy Spriet said. “When Helen and I saw what Saman was building with his program there was no question we wanted to invest in him and his research.”
Helen Spriet added: “We just hope this can help change cancer research and that one day, families won’t have to suffer.”
Immuno-oncology is the process of developing treatments that tap into the power of the body’s immune system to help fight cancer.
Maleki leads a team whose research focuses on improving the gut bacteria of patients through fecal microbiota transplants and other bacterial-based therapies to improve treatment response for various types and stages of cancer.
“Our translational and clinical research is focused on activating a patient’s immune system against cancer by transforming their unhealthy gut microbiome with the gut microbiome of a healthy donor through a fecal microbiota transplant,” he said.
“We are aiming to improve patient outcomes by boosting their immune response to the treatments administered.”
John MacFarlane, president and chief executive of the hospital foundation, praised the generosity of Andy and Helen Spriet.
“This transformational gift is an investment in innovation that will enable Dr. Saman Maleki to expand his groundbreaking research in immuno-oncology,” MacFarlane said.
In 2019, Maleki completed one of the first human trials of fecal microbiota transplants on patients with advanced melanoma, resulting in less treatment toxicity for patients and an improved treatment response, LHSC said.
The goal of researchers was to see if the transplants would bolster the recipients’ intestinal microbiome, the concert of beneficial microbes that exist in the gut. Studies have shown the microbiome plays an important role in immune system development and staving off pathogens.
By introducing healthy gut microbes to people who are undergoing immunotherapy for melanoma, researchers hoped the army of beneficial bacteria would give the patient an upper hand in their cancer fight.
The donation will allow Maleki to expand his clinical trials and research outside of melanoma to include pancreatic, kidney and even lung cancers, helping advance immunotherapy.
The Spriets’ donation helps take research “to the next level,” Maleki said.
“We are now at the beginning of an exciting era for microbiome research in oncology, one started right here in Southwestern Ontario,” he said.
Andy Spriet is president of Spriet Associates, a London engineering firm, and has been an active philanthropist donating to many different charities over the years.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.