Fecal transplants and immunotherapy

Plus: Altido Therapeutics pursues CAR-T for glioblastoma tumors ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

January 30, 2026 Check out STAT+

Sponsored By

Hi! Angus Chen, STAT's cancer reporter, here. There was a trio of Nature Medicine studies this week showing that fecal transplants might be able to improve responses to immunotherapy in patients with renal cancer, lung cancer, or melanoma. One of these trials was a randomized Phase 2 trial where patients getting anti-PD1 treatment and axitinib, a targeted therapy for renal cancer, either got a donor FMT or a placebo FMT. Those who got the real FMT had a significant benefit, with a median PFS of 24 months compared to 9 months on the placebo arm. There's been a lot of evidence over the years that having a healthy gut helps cancer immunotherapy, and these studies add to the very real and exciting possibility that oncologists could use fecal transplants to boost responses. How we would get there may be tricky though, as Sumanta Pal, a cancer research and medical oncologist at City of Hope, told me. For one, it's not entirely clear yet what exactly the good poop is that leads to good responses. In this one Phase 2 trial, the FMT all came from a single donor — not exactly a scalable solution. While there are groups investigating what specific assemblage of microbiota may make up an effective fecal transplant, or finding other ways to build FMT at scale. "It underscores one of the fundamental issues, which is how can that span out into something that translates into broader clinical practice," Pal said.

National Cancer Institute STAT+ | Startup Altido Therapeutics pursues CAR-T for glioblastoma tumors  Nick Leschly's company, commercializing a CAR-T cell therapy developed at Massachusetts General Hospital, closes seed round, seeks Series A investors. By Jason Mast STAT+ | ImmunityBio's Soon-Shiong mischaracterized talks with FDA over cancer drug, sources say The company, which is seeking expanded approval of the cancer drug Anktiva, had expressed shock at the agency's decision to issue a "refuse-to-file letter." By Adam Feuerstein STAT+ | Opinion: Medicare may start covering multi-cancer early detection tests. It should proceed with caution It's not likely that multi-cancer early detection tests are the innovation we need to reduce cancer mortality — at least not yet. By Barbara Levy and Badrinath Konety George Frey/Getty Images 15 new drugs added to Medicare price negotiations Third round of CMS drug price negotiations target 15 drugs, including Trulicity, Rexulti, Biktarvy, Xolair and Cosentyx. Prices would take effect in 2028. By John Wilkerson

More around STAT

---

In case you missed it Fecal transplants could boost the effectiveness of cancer treatments, New Scientist AI use in breast cancer screening cuts rate of later diagnosis by 12%, study finds, the Guardian Life-saving cancer drugs are leaving survivors with damaged hearts, Bloomberg A seasonal virus with a seasonal vaccine? Solve the new STAT crossword today.

---

Check out more exclusive coverage with a STAT+ subscription Read premium in-depth biotech, pharma, policy, and life science coverage and analysis with all of our STAT+ articles.

---

Enjoying Cancer Briefing? Tell us about your experience Continue reading the latest health & science news with the STAT app Download on the App Store or get it on Google Play

STAT, 1 Exchange Place, Boston, MA ©2026, All Rights Reserved. I no longer wish to receive STAT emails

Update Newsletter Preferences     •    Contact Us     •    Advertise with Us     •    View in Browser