Selected Publications

Selected publications from the Maleki Lab

Our publications reflect the Maleki Lab’s translational research program in immune-oncology, cancer immunotherapy, microbiome science, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), clinical trials, and biomarker discovery.

Selected publications are highlighted below. For a complete and up-to-date publication record, please visit Dr. Saman Maleki Vareki’s PubMed and Google Scholar profiles.

Highlighted Publications

Featured publication

Fecal microbiota transplantation plus immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: the phase 1 PERFORM trial.
Fernandes, R., Jabbarizadeh, B., Rajeh, A. et al.
Nature Medicine, 2026.

This phase I clinical trial evaluated fecal microbiota transplantation in combination with immunotherapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. As part of the lab’s broader translational program, PERFORM extends microbiome-based immunotherapy research beyond melanoma and supports the development of patient-focused strategies to improve treatment response, immune activity, and clinical outcomes.

View article

Clinical trials and microbiome-based immunotherapy

  • Fecal microbiota transplantation plus immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: the phase 1 PERFORM trial.
    Nature Medicine, 2026.
    View article
  • Fecal microbiota transplantation plus immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma: the phase 2 FMT-LUMINate trial.
    Nature Medicine, 2026.
    View article
  • Improved survival in advanced melanoma patients treated with fecal microbiota transplantation using healthy donor stool in combination with anti-PD1: final results of the MIMic phase 1 trial.
    Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 2025.
    View on PubMed
  • Fecal microbiota transplantation plus anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in advanced melanoma: a phase I trial.
    Nature Medicine, 2023.
    View article

Reviews and perspectives

  • The gut microbiome as a target in cancer immunotherapy: opportunities and challenges for drug development.
    Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2025.
    View article
  • Microbial-Derived Metabolites and Their Impact on Cancer Immunotherapy.
    Cancer Immunology Research, 2026.
    View on PubMed
  • T Lymphocyte-Based Cancer Immunotherapeutics.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2018.
    View on PubMed

Full Publication Lists

For the most complete and current publication record, please use the links below.

View publications on PubMed | View Google Scholar profile