SynthesisNutrients2019
The Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on the Incidence of Diarrhea in Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in Nutrients, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions Targeting the Gut Microbiome to Improve Cancer Treatment Outcomes and Their Gastrointestinal Side Effects: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.The Journal of nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluation of the efficacy of probiotics in the chemoradiotherapy of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Role of Probiotics and Synbiotics in Preventing Chemoradiotherapy-Associated Toxicity in Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.Iranian journal of medical sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of Saccharomyces boulardii on acute gastrointestinal toxicities in patients undergoing pelvic radiotherapy for gynecologic cancers: a randomized controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Trial
- Radiomitigators: Breakthroughs in Post-Radiation Recovery.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Microbiome-Driven Risk Stratification and Biotherapeutics in Radiation Enteritis.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota and microbiota-derived metabolites in radiation-induced injury: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Integrative Oncology Approaches Beneficial to Patients in Radiation Therapy.Current oncology reports · 2025Review
- Severe and Rapid Progression ofRespirology case reports · 2025Article
- Updated Interventions for Radiation-Induced Diarrhea: Putting Evidence Into Practice With the Oncology Nursing Society.Clinical journal of oncology nursing · 2025Review
- Microbiome in radiotherapy: an emerging approach to enhance treatment efficacy and reduce tissue injury.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Review
- Effects of combined ciprofloxacin and Neulasta therapy on intestinal pathology and gut microbiota after high-dose irradiation in mice.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Review
- Probiotics and Their Bioproducts: A Promising Approach for Targeting Methicillin-ResistantMicroorganisms · 2023Review
- The gut microbiota as a booster for radiotherapy: novel insights into radio-protection and radiation injury.Experimental hematology & oncology · 2023Review
- Probiotic Bacteria Cannot Mitigate the Adverse Effects of Radioactive Iodine-131 Treatment.Cancers · 2023Article
- Review
- The FADS1 genotypes modify the effect of linoleic acid-enriched diet on adipose tissue inflammation via pro-inflammatory eicosanoid metabolism.European journal of nutrition · 2022Article
- Probiotic as anti-colorectal cancer agents: Challenges and further perspective.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2022Article
- Influence of Probiotics in Prevention and Treatment of Patients Who Undergo Chemotherapy or/and Radiotherapy and Suffer from Mucositis, Diarrhoea, Constipation, Nausea and Vomiting.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The protective effects of probiotic supplementation against radiation-induced diarrhea (RID) have been reported in previous systematic reviews; however so far, only non-conclusive results have been obtained. The objective of this study was to systematically update and evaluate the available evidence for probiotic supplementation. The protocol of this systematic review has been registered (CRD42018106059) with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). The primary efficacy outcome was the incidence of RID. Secondary outcomes were the incidence of watery stool, soft stool, and antidiarrheal medication use. There were eight trials, and a total of 1116 participants were included in the primary analysis. Compared with placebo, probiotics were associated with a lower risk of RID [risk ratio (RR) = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.46, 0.83]. A requisite heterogeneity-adjusted trial sequential analysis indicated conclusive evidence for this beneficial effect. No statistically significant reduction in RID (RR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.14, 1.91) was observed on subgroup analysis in patients receiving both radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, those patients receiving only radiation therapy (RT) demonstrated significant benefit (RR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.48, 0.78). There was a significant difference in the antidiarrheal medication use (RR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.35, 0.84) observed with the use of probiotics. However, no significant difference was observed for the incidence of soft and watery stool. The use of probiotics is beneficial in preventing RID in patients receiving RT.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.