Influence of Probiotics in Prevention and Treatment of Patients Who Undergo Chemotherapy or/and Radiotherapy and Suffer from Mucositis, Diarrhoea, Constipation, Nausea and Vomiting

Abstract

The administration of probiotics to patients treated with chemo- and/or radiotherapy is assumed to be beneficial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of probiotic intake on the severity of selected gastrointestinal side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The searched databases included PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from which twenty-one studies were included. Most of them concerned diarrhoea, however, two of the studies examined constipation, another two nausea and vomiting, and eight of the included studies regarded mucositis. The total number of patients equalled 2621. The time of the conducted therapy, the administered species, neoplasm pathology, and adjuvant therapy varied. The outcome was assessed by gathering information about the statistical significance of the improvements. An enhancement was observed in thirteen studies, where probiotics had a significant impact on each of the included chemo- and/or radiotherapy side effects. However, the heterogeneity of the assessed data makes it impossible to state a firm conclusion.

Antitumoral Agent-Induced Constipation: A Systematic Review

“…From the 17 studies mentioning aspects related to treatment, the number of patients included was 7786. From the type of cancers reviewed, five did not mention the location of the cancer [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ], four mentioned treatments in patients with leukemia and lymphoma [ 6 , 27 , 59 , 60 ], three involved patients with breast cancer [ 12 , 61 , 62 ], two involved patients with multiple myeloma [ 11 , 63 ], two involved patients with lung cancer [ 18 , 64 ], and one involved patients with colorectal cancer [ 13 ].…”

“…From these 17 studies, 10 mentioned chemotherapies in general as antitumoral treatment [ 18 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 61 , 62 , 64 ]. The treatments that were specifically mentioned were vinca alkaloids [ 6 , 27 , 60 ], lenalidomide/thalidomide/bortezomib [ 11 , 63 ], and 5-fluorouracil/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide [ 12 ].…”

“…Six studies were randomized controlled trials [ 12 , 13 , 18 , 59 , 61 , 64 ], four were narrative reviews [ 11 , 54 , 55 , 63 ], three were systematic reviews [ 57 , 58 , 62 ], two were retrospective studies [ 27 , 60 ], one was a scoping review [ 56 ], and one was a case report [ 6 ].…”

Effect of a fermented dairy beverage on treatment-related toxicity and inflammation in locally advanced cervical cancer patients, a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study.

“…It can cause loss of uids, electrolytes, and nutritional de ciencies, which, if untreated, could put the patient at risk of severe dehydration [26]. Some studies suggest probiotics are adequate for preventing diarrhea induced by CT, particularly in the severity of diarrhea [21,27]. In the clinic, recommendations to avoid fermented foods rich in probiotics and prebiotics to prevent diarrhea are still habitual practices.…”

A near-infrared and lysosome-targeted BODIPY photosensitizer for photodynamic and photothermal synergistic therapy

“…Still, these methods also cause serious side effects on healthy organ function. [2][3][4][5] Therefore, the development of novel cancer treatment strategies that minimize side effects is crucial. In recent years, phototherapy, involving photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), has been acknowledged as one of the most representative therapeutic strategies due to its noninvasiveness, low toxicity, low side effects, and high targeting selectivity.…”