Trial reportBMC complementary medicine and therapies2023
The effects of synbiotics supplementation on reducing chemotherapy-induced side effects in women with breast cancer: a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial.
Trial report in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06560385 (A Pilot, Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled Trial on the Efficacy of a Synbiotic Formula), which is not on this map. Cited by 23 papers, 4 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.
A Pilot, Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled Trial on the Efficacy of a Synbiotic Formula (BLHK03) in Alleviating Chemotherapy-induced Alopecia (CIA) in Breast Cancer Patients
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 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
- Nutrition Interventions in the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Symptoms during Cancer Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of Dietary Supplements on Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Life in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- The association between the gut microbiome and fatigue in individuals living with cancer: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Pooled it
- Modulation of the response to immunotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer: the role of the microbiota and microbial metabolites in the tumor microenvironment.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Molecular mechanisms involved in the anticancer activities of probiotics and postbiotics.Cancer cell international · 2026Review
- State-of-the-Art Review on Probiotics, Synbiotics, and Microbial Metabolites: Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Host Immunity, Metabolic Health, and Chronic Disease Prevention.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Review
- The gut-tumor connection: the role of microbiota in cancer progression and treatment strategies.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Postbiotics as Emerging Strategy Targeting Obesity- and Aging-Related Breast Cancer-Prospects in Prophylaxis and Therapy.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Potential Anticancer Mechanisms of Probiotics: A Comprehensive Review.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- The Role of Lactobacillus Strain Probiotics in Breast Cancer: Strain-Specific Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential Beyond Probiotics.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Article
- Microecological modulators-new perspectives for treating sex hormone disorders.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- The intratumoral microbiota in breast cancer: from basic research to clinical translation.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- Recent Insights About Probiotics Related Pharmabiotics in Pharmacology: Prevention and Management of Diseases.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Review
- Anticancer Potential of Prebiotics: Targeting Estrogen Receptors and PI3K/AKT/mTOR in Breast Cancer.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Functional foods and exercise in breast cancer: epigenetic modulation, chemotherapy tolerance, and fatigue management.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Gastric Cancer: Potential Mechanisms and Clinical Applications-A Literature Review.Cancers · 2024Review
- Synergistic Proliferation Effects of Xanthohumol and Niflumic Acid on Merkel and Glioblastoma Cancer Cells: Role of Cell Membrane Interactions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Nutrition Intervention and Microbiome Modulation in the Management of Breast Cancer.Nutrients · 2024Review
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 at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe prevalence of breast cancer and its mortality rate are increasing rapidly among women worldwide. On other hand, the courses of chemotherapy as the main treatment for these patients are too much exhaustive and annoying. This study was designed to evaluate the use of synbiotics (probiotics + prebiotics) supplementation as a safe and inexpensive adjuvant treatment in reducing common chemotherapy side effects in women with breast cancer.
methodsThe current study was conducted on 67 women with definitive diagnosis of breast cancer who were hospitalized to receive one-day chemotherapy sessions, and met the inclusion criteria. The patients were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group to receive synbiotics or placebo, respectively. They received oral consumption of synbiotics supplements twice a day for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was the changes in severity or experience of chemotherapy complication, analyzed by intention to treat (ITT). The instruments included 7 validated questionnaires which were used to assess chemotherapy complications in the initiation, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after intervention. Dietary intake was measured by 24-h dietary recall at the beginning, week 4 and week 8. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 24. P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
results67 breast cancer patients participated in the study. 8 weeks after intervention and adjusting the confounders, the severity of chemotherapy complications including unnormal defecation (P = 0.005) and fatigue (P < 0/001) decreased significantly in the synbiotics group compared to the placebo group. Furthermore, nausea/vomiting (P = 0.015), and anorexia (P < 0.001) were decreased at the end of the study compared to the first visit, but it was not statistically significant compared to the placebo group.
conclusionsSynbiotics supplementation during chemotherapy can potentially reduce the severity of fatigue and abnormal defecation. It can help reduce anorexia and nausea/vomiting.
trial registrationThis study was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) (registered code: IRCT20091114002709N56) (date of registration: 5/5/2021). Direct link to the trial page: https://www.irct.ir/trial/54559 .
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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.