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Microbiome Reduce Colon Cancer Side Effects?
Can probiotics reduce colon cancer side effects? According to the research linked below, two probiotic strains can reduce specific adverse events in colon cancer patients undergoing 5-FU chemotherapy.
Bernie Davis is a newly diagnosed colon cancer patient who is trying to decide if adjuvant chemotherapy is needed. While adjuvant chemo reduces the risk of a colon cancer relapse, it comes with a host of side effects.
Can the gut microbiome alleviate cancer treatment side effects?
Wouldn’t it be great if cancer patients could undergo chemotherapy and not suffer from side effects? The probiotics discussed below are a step in this direction. Bernie will add prehabilitation to the therapy plan to reduce side effects further.
Are you a colon cancer patient? Scroll down the page and post a question or comment and I will reply ASAP.
Thanks,
David Emerson
- Cancer Survivor
- Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Lactobacillus casei Variety rhamnosus Probiotic Preventively Attenuates 5-Fluorouracil/Oxaliplatin-Induced Intestinal Injury in a Syngeneic Colorectal Cancer Model
Adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy, including FOLFOX (5-FU, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin), is recommended for colorectal cancer. However, intestinal mucositis remains a common adverse effect for which no effective preventive strategies are available.
To develop a convenient and novel way to alleviate mucositis, we investigated the effect of Lactobacillus casei variety rhamnosus (Lcr35) on FOLFOX-induced mucosal injury. BALB/c mice subcutaneously injected with syngeneic CT26 colorectal adenocarcinoma cells were orally administered Lcr35 daily before, during, and after 5-day injection of FOLFOX regimen, for 14 days.
The following methods were used:
- diarrhea score for toxicity,
- ELISA for cytokine production,
- histopathology for intestinal injury,
- immunohistochemistry for apoptosis/proliferation and regulatory proteins,
- RT-PCR for cytokine mRNA expression,
- and DNA sequencing for fecal gut microbiota.
FOLFOX administration to colorectal cancer-bearing mice significantly inhibited tumor growth and the accompanying marked diarrhea and intestinal injury histologically characterized by the shortening of villi and destruction of intestinal crypts.
Preventive administration of Lcr35 dose-dependently reduced the severity of diarrhea and intestinal mucositis without affecting the anti-tumor effect of FOLFOX. The numbers of apoptotic, NF-κB-, and BAX-activated cells increased after FOLFOX, and these responses were mitigated by Lcr35. TNF-α and IL-6 upregulation by FOLFOX treatment was attenuated by Lcr35.
The fecal gut microbiota composition of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes disturbed by FOLFOX was significantly reversed by Lcr35 toward a preferential profile.
In conclusion, the oral probiotic Lcr35 prevented FOLFOX-induced intestinal mucositis in colorectal cancer-bearing mice. The putative mechanism might involve modulation of gut microbiota and proinflammatory responses with suppression of intrinsic apoptosis in intestinal injury…
Conclusion
Our colorectal cancer murine model with intestinal mucositis induced by FOLFOX may be an effective model to investigate the mechanisms underlying intestinal injury and its possible interaction with drugs. The development of FOLFOX-induced mucositis involves changes in gut microbiota and might be “driven” by the activation of NF-κB. Activated NF-κB results in apoptotic signals and pro-inflammatory cytokine production, sequentially contributing to gastrointestinal injury.
By modulation of the gut microbiota and proinflammatory responses with suppression of intrinsic apoptosis, Lcr35 mitigated FOLFOX-induced mucositis and may serve as an alternative therapeutic strategy for the prevention or management of chemotherapy-induced mucositis in the future.
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