Trial reportScientific reports2020
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral probiotic Streptococcus salivarius M18 on head and neck cancer patients post-radiotherapy: a pilot study.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy and tolerability of probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics consumption on oral complications of patients with thyroid and head and neck cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC oral health · 2025Pooled it
- Probiotic Supplements on Oncology Patients' Treatment-Related Side Effects: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Probiotic Short-Term Regiment on Oral Health Parameters in Children: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness ofFrontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Microbiota-based therapies in oral health and disorders.Folia microbiologica · 2025Review
- Article
- Role of Human Microbiome in Development and Management of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Cancers · 2025Review
- Probiotics and Oral Complications of Antineoplastic Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Dentistry journal · 2025Review
- Microbiological mechanisms of oral mucosal disease: oral-intestinal crosstalk and probiotic therapy.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Review
- Review
- A Three-Month Probiotic (theDentistry journal · 2024Article
- Review
- Implications of oral dysbiosis and HPV infection in head and neck cancer: from molecular and cellular mechanisms to early diagnosis and therapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Review
- Exploiting the Acidic Extracellular pH: Evaluation of Streptococcus salivarius M18 Postbiotics to Target Cancer Cells.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2022Article
- [Probiotics' Ameliorating Effect on Side Effects of Cancer Treatment: Reflections and Prospects].Sichuan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Sichuan University. Medical science edition · 2022Review
- Challenges in the production and use of probiotics as therapeuticals in cancer treatment or prevention.Journal of industrial microbiology & biotechnology · 2021Review
- Radiation-Induced Salivary Gland Dysfunction: Mechanisms, Therapeutics and Future Directions.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Compensatory intestinal antibody response against pro-inflammatory microbiota after bariatric surgery.Gut microbesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Xerostomia detrimentally affects the oral health of many head and neck cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy. Its sequelae become an ongoing burden for patients that often manifest as periodontal disease and dental decay. Bacteria play a major role in the pathogenesis of these conditions and here we explore the use of an oral probiotic to beneficially modulate the oral bacterial community post-radiotherapy. In this pilot study, a four-week intervention with oral probiotic lozenges containing Streptococcus salivarius M18 was trialled in seven patients. Post-intervention changes in oral health and in the composition of the plaque and saliva bacterial communities were compared with six patients in a placebo group. An improvement in periodontal screening and plaque index scores was observed in both groups after the intervention period. The oral probiotic lozenges did not significantly impact bacterial community composition or diversity, nor did the probiotic lozenges increase the relative sequence abundance of ZOTU_1 (the probiotic-associated sequence assigned to S. salivarius) detected in the samples. Network analyses suggest negative interactions occurred between ZOTU_1 and species from the periopathogenic genera Campylobacter, Fretibacterium, Selenomonas and Treponema but further investigation is required to more fully understand the beneficial properties of this oral probiotic.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.