Longitudinal gut microbiome changes in immune checkpoint blockade in advanced melanoma

Multiple clinical trials targeting the gut microbiome are being conducted to optimize treatment outcomes for immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). To improve the success of these interventions, understanding gut microbiome dynamics during ICB is urgently needed. Through longitudinal shotgun metagenomics profiling in 175 patients treated with ICB for advanced melanoma, we show that microbial species-level genome bins (SGBs; an improved species-delineation) and pathways exhibit contrasting patterns from baseline in patients achieving progression-free survival (PFS) of 12 months or longer (PFS= 12) vs. patients with PFS shorter than 12 months (PFS< 12).