Dr. Janine Ziemons

Biography
Janine Ziemons studied Health Sciences and Biomedical Sciences with a Specialization in Nutrition & Metabolism at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. During her education, she discovered her fascination for oncology as well as the gut microbiota. In 2018, she combined these two interests and started her PhD project on the role of the gut microbiota in human cancer at the Department of Surgery at Maastricht University. During her PhD trajectory she investigated how the administration of chemotherapy and the presence of cancer cachexia affect the gut microbiota and how these interactions could be used to optimize treatment efficacy and reduce chemotherapy side effects. In February 2024, she defended her dissertation on this topic and continued her academic career as a postdoctoral scientist at the Department of Surgery at Maastricht University. Her current research focusses on (functional) interactions between the gut microbiota and different chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapy-induced microbiota changes, and potential (nutritional) strategies to counteract this.

Summary of presentation
The administration of chemotherapy in cancer patients exerts various effects on the gut microbiota. Recent evidence shows that chemotherapy does not only affect bacterial growth and overall composition, but also the functional capacity of the gut microbiota. This in turn, could have consequences for chemotherapy efficacy and the occurrence of side effects. Prebiotic fibers represent a promising strategy to counteract this chemotherapy-induced gut microbiota changes. Recent in vitro results suggest that prebiotic fibers could indeed stimulate the growth of gut bacteria with beneficial properties in the presence of the chemotherapeutic 5-FU. Knowledge of chemotherapy-related microbial disturbances as well as successful strategies to counteract them are of great importance to further optimize anti-cancer treatment and subsequent prehabilitation.