February 21, 2023

Personalized Management in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Using Multi-omics Predictive Biomarkers and Microbial Community Modeling

5th Call, iDoc

Short Summary

By studying the patient microbiome and clinical characteristics, we seek to predict individualized responses and side effects to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Goals

We aim to predict personalized patient response and side effects to allo-HSCT using clinical characteristics data and features of their intestinal microbiome. Specifically, we seek to understand how the human gut microbiome interacts with the immune system and influences infection and GVHD risk. To do so, we are conducting a prospective cohort study at the University Hospital Basel, following allo-HSCT patients and their response to treatment over 180 days. Ultimately, we hope to use this knowledge to design preventative measures to prevent and mitigate allo-HSCT side effects.

Significance

The project will make a difference in personalized medicine by identifying relevant patient features for immediate clinical application in allo-HSCT patients. Understanding individualized features that affect patient response will guide drug treatment, improve quality of care, reduce high infection and GVHD rates, and improve patient survival rate following allo-HSCT.

Background

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only effective treatment for certain blood cancers and disorders. This is a life-saving, but dangerous procedure, with a high occurrence of side effects including infection and graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). Numerous individual patient factors determine patient response to allo-HSCT, including intestinal microbiome composition. The intestinal microbiome is expected to influence immune system activity after allo-HSCT, but these details are yet unclear. We hypothesize that a personalized mixture of host, transplant, and microbial factors underpin the currently unpredictable risk of GVHD and infection following allo-HSCT.

Publications

Ziemski M, Adamov A, Kim L, Flörl L, Nicholas A. Bokulich*. 2022. Reproducible acquisition, management, and meta-analysis of nucleotide sequence (meta)data using q2-fondue. Bioinformatics. btac639. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btac639