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Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
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Drugs that Damage Myeloma patients’ gut health
A growing number of studies cite the gut microbiome as being important to the immune system of multiple myeloma patients. The study below lists drugs that can damage MM patients’ gut health.
If a myeloma patient undergoes the FDA-approved, standard-of-care therapy plan, they will have:
- Quad chemotherapy of RVDd (6-8 courses)
- Autologous stem cell transplant- (high dose melphalan and dexamethasone)
- Followed by maintenance therapy (usually Revlimid and more dexamethasone)
In the months that follow the SOC therapy plan, the average MM patient might also undergo
- Acyclovir
- Amoxicillin or a similar antibiotic
- Laxatives
- NSAIDS
I’m not saying that MM patients must avoid ALL of the drugs mentioned in this post. I am saying however, that the average MM patient may undergo many of the drugs listed below that can damage the gut microbiome.
Because CAR-T cell therapy is more effective with a healthy microbiome, it is no surprise that many MM patients experience disappointment with their CAR-T cell outcomes.
How changes in the gut microbiome may impact patient response to CAR-T therapy
Maybe like prehabillitaton in advance of induction therapy, maybe MM patients preparing for CAR-T cell therapy can prehabilitate their gut microbiomes with nutrition, fermented foods, probiotics, prebiotics, exercise, etc.
I am a long-term MM survivor. I have learned the hard way that conventional medicine is only a piece of the MM picture.
Email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com to learn more about both conventional and non-conventional MM therapies.
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
How Common Meds Secretly Wreck Your Patients’ Microbiome?
“The list of drugs that can directly alter the gut microbiota is long. In addition to antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, anthelmintics, proton pump inhibitors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), laxatives, oral antidiabetics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, statins, chemotherapeutics, and immunosuppressants can trigger dysbiosis.
A 2020 study published in Nature Communications, which analyzed the impact of common medications on the composition and metabolic function of the gut bacteria, showed that of the 41 classes of medications. Researchers found that 19 were associated with changes in the microbiome, most notably:
- antibiotics,
- proton pump inhibitors,
- laxatives,
- and metformin…
Known Facts
Antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and anthelmintics eliminate pathogens but can also disrupt the microbiota across the gut, skin, mouth, lungs, and genitourinary tract.
“This ecosystem is part of the innate immune system and helps to balance inflammation and homeostasis. Loss of microbial diversity alters interspecies interactions and changes nutrient availability, which can undermine the ability to fend off pathogens,” said Segantini, noting the role of microbiota in vitamin K and B-complex production.
Antibiotics, as is well known, eliminate bacterial species indiscriminately, reduce the presence of beneficial bacteria in the gut, and, therefore, favor the growth of opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms. However, in addition to their direct effects on microorganisms, different medications can alter the intestinal microbiota through various mechanisms linked to their specific actions. Here are some examples:
Proton pump inhibitors: These can facilitate the translocation of bacteria from the mouth to the intestine and affect the metabolic functions of the intestinal microbiota…
NSAIDs: NSAIDs can modify the function and composition of the intestinal microbiota, favor the growth of pathogenic species, and reduce the diversity of preexisting bacteria by reducing the presence of beneficial commensal bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium…
Laxatives: Accelerated intestinal transit using laxatives impairs the quality of the microbiota and alters bile acid. Osmotic agents, such as lactulose and polyethylene glycol, may decrease resistance to infection…
Chemotherapeutics: Chemotherapeutic agents can significantly influence the intestinal microbiota and affect its composition, diversity, and functionality, which in turn can affect the efficacy of treatment and the occurrence of adverse effects…
Statins: Animal studies suggest that treatment with statins, including atorvastatin, may alter the composition of the gut microbiota. “These changes include the reduction of beneficial bacteria, such as Akkermansia muciniphila, and the increase in intestinal pathogens, resulting in intestinal dysbiosis…
Immunosuppressants: The use of immunosuppressants, such as corticosteroids, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate, has been associated with changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota…
Antipsychotics: Antipsychotics can affect gut microbiota in several ways, influencing bacterial composition and diversity, which may contribute to adverse metabolic and gastrointestinal effects…
Oral antidiabetic agents: Oral antidiabetic agents influence the intestinal microbiota in different ways, depending on the therapeutic class. However, not all drug interactions in the microbiome are harmful. Liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria associated with metabolism…
Antifungals: As a side effect, antifungals also eliminate commensal fungi, which “share intestinal niches with microbiota bacteria, balancing their immunological functions. When modified, they culminate in dysbiosis, worsening of inflammatory pathologies — such as colitis and allergic diseases — and can increase bacterial translocation,” said Segantini…
Anthelmintics: These also affect the intestinal bacterial and fungal microbiota and alter the modulation of the immune response, in addition to having specific effects depending on the type of drug used…
drugs that damage myeloma patients’ gut health drugs that damage myeloma patients’ gut health drugs that damage myeloma patients’ gut health