Research paper
Probiotics for the prevention or treatment of chemotherapy- or radiotherapy-related diarrhoea in people with cancer.
Study answer
What this study found
Probiotics may reduce chemotherapy- or radiotherapy-related diarrhoea in some settings, but the evidence was limited, heterogeneous, and low or very low certainty. Several trials reported fewer diarrhoea events with probiotics, for example 42/243 versus 119/239 and grade 3/4 diarrhoea 8/243 versus 69/239 in one large study, and 3/32 versus 14/31 grade 2/3 diarrhoea in another. Other trials found no clear benefit, such as diarrhoea in 69/81 versus 80/86 (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.82 to 1.02) or grade 2 or higher diarrhoea in 51/81 versus 34/43 (RR 0.75; 95% CI 0.55 to 1.03). No serious adverse events…
- Study & population
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials in adults with cancer receiving chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or both, evaluating probiotics for prevention or treatment of therapy-related diarrhoea.
- Intervention
- Oral probiotics were tested in varied formulations across the included trials, including single-strain and multi-strain products, probiotic capsules, sachets, and fermented milk or yogurt preparations.
- Key limitation
- The evidence base was underpowered and clinically heterogeneous, with different probiotic strains, doses, formulations, cancer treatments, and outcome definitions.
View source
Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Treament-related diarrhoea is one of the most common and troublesome adverse effects related to chemotherapy or radiotherapy in people with cancer. Its reported incidence has been as high as 50% to 80%. Severe treatment-related diarrhoea c…