Background
Our study aimed to determine the effect of probiotic consumption containing six viable microorganisms of 30 × 10
10
cfu
Lactobacillus
and
Bifidobacteria
strains for six months on clinical outcomes and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-17C and IL-22) in patients with colorectal cancer.
Methods
Fifty-two patients with colorectal cancer were randomized at four weeks after surgery to receive either a placebo (
n
= 25) or 30 billion colony-forming unit (CFU) of a mixture of six viable strains including 107 mg of
Lactobacillus acidophilus
BCMC® 12,130,
Lactobacillus lactis
BCMC® 12,451,
Lactobacillus casei subsp
BCMC® 12,313,
Bifidobacterium longum
BCMC® 02120,
Bifidobacterium bifidum
BCMC® 02290 and
Bifidobacterium infantis
BCMC® 02129 (
n
= 27). Patients were instructed to take the product orally twice daily for six months. Infection status, diarrhea or hospital admission were recorded throughout the study. Blood was taken pre- and post-intervention to measure TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-17C and IL-22 using ELISA multiplex kit.
Results
The majority of cases (~ 70%) were in Duke’s C colorectal cancer for both groups. No surgical infection occurred and no antibiotics were required. Chemotherapy induced diarrhea was observed in both groups. Significant reduction in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-17C and IL-22 were observed in CRC patients who received probiotics as compared to pre-treatment level (
P
< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the IFN-γ in both groups.
Conclusions
We have shown that probiotics containing six viable microorganisms of
Lactobacillus
and
Bifidobacteria
strains are safe to be consumed at four weeks after surgery in colorectal cancer patients and have reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines (except for IFN-gamma). Probiotic may modify intestinal microenvironment resulting in a decline in pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Trial registration
NCT03782428
; retrospectively registered on 20th December 2018.