Postbiotics as Adjuvant Therapy in Cancer Care.

2024-07-24
Nutrients 16(15)

PubMed: 39125280
DOI: 10.3390/nu16152400

Study Design

Type: Review

Rigorous Journal

Postbiotics are defined as a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit to the host. They range from cell wall fragments to metabolites, bacterial lysates, extracellular vesicles, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Postbiotics may influence carcinogenesis via a variety of mechanisms. They can promote homeostatic immune responses, reduce inflammation, induce selective cytotoxicity against tumor cells, as well as the enabling the control of tumor cell proliferation and enhancing intestinal epithelial barrier function. Therefore, probiotics can serve as an adjunct strategy in anticancer treatment together with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Up to now, the only relevant postbiotics used as interventions in oncological patients remain vitamin K molecules, with few phase-II and III trials available. In fact, postbiotics' levels are strictly dependent on the gut microbiota's composition, which may vary between individuals and can be altered under different physiological and pathological conditions. Therefore, the lack of consistent clinical evidence supporting postbiotics' efficacy is due to their poor bioavailability, short half-life, and fluctuating levels. Synbiotics, a mixture of prebiotics and probiotics, are expected to have a more homogeneous bioavailability with respect to postbiotics and may have greater potential for future development. In this review, we focus on the role of postbiotics as an adjuvant therapy in cancer treatment.

Research Insights

Supplement	Dose	Health Outcome	Effect Type	Effect Size	Source
Lactobacillus rhamnosus	—	Improved Cancer-Related Health Outcome	Beneficial	Small	View source Postbiotics may influence carcinogenesis via a variety of mechanisms. They can promote homeostatic immune responses, reduce inflammation, induce selective cytotoxicity against tumor cells, as well as the enabling the control of tumor cell proliferation and enhancing intestinal epithelial barrier function.