Probiotics and Their Metabolites in Cancer Therapy

About this Research Topic

Background

Probiotic microbes are live microorganisms that are intended to have health benefits when consumed or applied to the body and are mainly obtained from traditional fermented foods or from the gut. Probiotics can be naive strains or genetically modified in any form. They are known as ‘live microbiological ingredients’ when used in dietary supplements or ‘live bio-therapeutic agents’ when used as a drug. They are mostly used by different industries including the food and nutritional supplements industries. Probiotics are mostly classified into bacterial or lactic acid and non-lactic acid bacteria strains, and yeasts. Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus are common bacterial probiotics. Other potential probiotics include Clostridiales, Bacteroidales, Bacillus spp., Escherichia coli, enterococci and Weissella spp. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, Candida, Kluyveromyces, Pichia, Debaryomyces, Hanseniaspora, and Metschnikowia are accepted potential probiotic yeasts.

It has been discovered that probiotics play an important role in the prevention and effective treatment of various types of cancer. Indeed, dead probiotics and their metabolites have been found to have significant benefits in the prevention and treatment of tumor cells. Probiotics and their probioactive cellular materials produce several beneficial effects in the gastrointestinal tract, release various enzymes, and develop potential synergistic effects on digestion. Specific cellular ingredients in probiotic lactic acid bacteria induce potential adjuvant effects such as modulation of cellular immune responses, activation of the reticulo-endothelial system, enhancement of cytokine pathways, and regulation of interleukins and tumor necrosis factors.
The main mechanisms of anti-cancer and anti-mutagenic effect of probiotics are: binding, degradation, and inhibition of mutagen by probiotics; prevention of pro-carcinogen and transformation of harmful, toxic and highly reactive carcinogens; gut pH lowering by short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced during the breakdown of non-digestible carbohydrate; modulation and enhancement of the host's innate immunity through the secretion of anti-inflammatory molecules. As vital dietary supplements, probiotics are useful in reducing the risk of various types of cancer and managing the safety of existing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery with few, if any, side effects. It is therefore very important to discover the potential strains of probiotics, the effective administration dose, and the molecular mechanisms that can support in cancer therapy.

This Research Topic aims to highlight the potential roles of live and dead probiotics, as well as their metabolic products, in cancer treatment and in the basic understanding of alternative cancer treatment tools and mechanisms.

We welcome submissions that cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• The role of probiotics and their products in modulating cancer immunotherapy
• The use of probiotics as an adjuvant in cancer treatment
• The effect of probiotics on signaling pathways in tumor and immune cells
• Efficacy of different pharmaceutical forms in delivery of probiotics or their products

Keywords: probiotics, cancer, gastrointestinal tract, digestion, gut microbiota

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