Gut microbiome functional pathways outperform taxonomic profiles in predicting immune checkpoint inhibitor response in non-small cell lung cancer: an interpretable machine learning approach with SHAP - Takeaways - MDSpire

Gut microbiome functional pathways outperform taxonomic profiles in predicting immune checkpoint inhibitor response in non-small cell lung cancer: an interpretable machine learning approach with SHAP

  • By

  • Feifei Wei

  • Yoshiro Nakahara

  • Junya Isobe

  • Yuka Igarashi

  • Haruhiro Saito

  • Shuji Murakami

  • Tetsuro Kondo

  • Hidetomo Himuro

  • Taku Kouro

  • Tomoya Matsui

  • Satoshi Wada

  • Takuya Tsunoda

  • Kiyoshi Yoshimura

  • Tetsuro Sasada

  • May 15, 2026

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  • 1

    Functional profiles of the gut microbiome are more predictive of immune checkpoint inhibitor responses in NSCLC than taxonomic characteristics.

  • 2

    MetaCyc pathways, including nitrogen metabolism and short-chain fatty acid biosynthesis, significantly correlate with treatment response.

  • 3

    A study of 77 Japanese NSCLC patients revealed that functional microbiome features outperform taxonomic data in forecasting clinical outcomes.

  • 4

    Machine learning models utilizing functional pathways demonstrated robust predictive capabilities for immune-related adverse events and survival.

  • 5

    The findings suggest that metabolic pathway signatures may serve as safer targets for precision interventions in NSCLC treatment.

Original Source(s)

Gut microbiome functional pathways outperform taxonomic profiles in predicting immune checkpoint inhibitor response in non-small cell lung cancer: an interpretable machine learning approach with SHAP

  • by Feifei Wei, Yoshiro Nakahara, Junya Isobe, Yuka Igarashi, Haruhiro Saito, Shuji Murakami, Tetsuro Kondo, Hidetomo Himuro, Taku Kouro, Tomoya Matsui, Satoshi Wada, Takuya Tsunoda, Kiyoshi Yoshimura, Tetsuro Sasada

  • May 15, 2026

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