SynthesisIntegrative cancer therapies
Orally Administered Probiotics in the Prevention of Chemotherapy (± Radiotherapy)-Induced Gastrointestinal Toxicity: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.
Synthesis in Integrative cancer therapies. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 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
- Pooled it
- The impact of pre-, pro- and synbiotics supplementation in colorectal cancer treatment: a systematic review.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Insights on supplement use during cancer care from online Reddit conversations.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Exploring the Role of Probiotics in the Prevention and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancer.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- The gut microbiome in colorectal cancer: mechanisms of carcinogenesis and emerging microbiota-targeted therapies.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- Probiotics: A New Approach for the Prevention and Treatment of Cervical Cancer.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Review
- Microbiota and Radiotherapy: Unlocking the Potential for Improved Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Article
- Baseline gut microbiome alpha diversity predicts chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with breast cancer.NPJ breast cancer · 2024Article
- An exploratory study of a multi-species probiotic formulation and markers of health in a real-world oncological cohort in the time of covid.Inflammopharmacology · 2024Article
- The beneficial effect of probiotics in the prevention of irinotecan-induced diarrhea in colorectal cancer patients with colostomy: a pooled analysis of two probiotic trials (Probio-SK-003 and Probio-SK-005) led by Slovak Cooperative Oncology Group.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Article
- Preventing chemotherapy-induced diarrhea and microbiota imbalances with prebiotics and probiotics in breast cancer treatment: A case report.Gut microbes reports · 2024Article
- Microbiome in Cancer Development and Treatment.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter phase III study of prevention of irinotecan-induced diarrhea by a probiotic mixture containing Bifidobacterium BB-12Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChemoradiotherapy-induced gastrointestinal toxicity may lead to a significant impairment of the oncological patient's quality of life, as well as to reduced adherence to the treatment, which may have a negative impact on survival and mortality rates.
objectiveThe aim of this review was to investigate whether oral probiotic administration prevents chemotherapy (± radiotherapy)-induced gastrointestinal toxicity, particularly diarrhea.
methodsWe searched the MEDLINE, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases for randomized controlled trials in English published between 1990 and 2020. We conducted statistical data analyses expressing the treatment effect size as a risk ratio (RR) together with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Implications are based on trials rated as having a low risk of bias (RoB).
resultsWe included 8 trials (n = 697 participants), from which 3 studies rated as low RoB contained primary endpoint data; the risk of developing grade 3/4 diarrhea in patients receiving probiotics was reduced by 78% compared to the control group (RR = 0.22 [95% CI 0.05-1.08];
conclusionsProbiotics failed to prove a preventive effect of statistical significance against the development of severe and overall diarrhea in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy (± radiotherapy). However, we cannot rule out that the effects of probiotics are clinically relevant, especially in certain subgroups of patients. This needs to be clarified in further well-performed studies.
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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.