Abstract
Simple SummaryColorectal cancer being the third most frequently diagnosed cancer type, is creating enormous physical, financial, and emotional burden on individuals as well as on the health care system. Probiotics have been there in the limelight due to their numerous health benefits. In recent decades use of probiotics for the management of colorectal cancer is becoming increasingly popular owing to their positive and favourable outcomes in many in vitro, in vivo, and clinical investigations. The positive results are believed to be the manifestation of multiple beneficial effects exerted by probiotics acting constitutively. This review provides an overview of several mechanisms of probiotic activity supported by evidences from in vitro and in vivo investigations, establishing the promising role of probiotics as a candidate for colorectal cancer management.Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the World’s third most frequently diagnosed cancer type. It accounted for about 9.4% mortality out of the total incidences of cancer in the year 2020. According to estimated facts by World Health Organization (WHO), by 2030, 27 million new CRC cases, 17 million deaths, and around 75 million people living with the disease will appear. The facts and evidence that establish a link between the intestinal microflora and the occurrence of CRC are quite intuitive. Current shortcomings of chemo- and radiotherapies and the unavailability of appropriate treatment strategies for CRC are becoming the driving force to search for an alternative approach for the prevention, therapy, and management of CRC. Probiotics have been used for a long time due to their beneficial health effects, and now, it has become a popular candidate for the preventive and therapeutic treatment of CRC. The probiotics adopt different strategies such as the improvement of the intestinal barrier function, balancing of natural gut microflora, secretion of anticancer compounds, and degradation of carcinogenic compounds, which are useful in the prophylactic treatment of CRC. The pro-apoptotic ability of probiotics against cancerous cells makes them a potential therapeutic candidate against cancer diseases. Moreover, the immunomodulatory properties of probiotics have created interest among researchers to explore the therapeutic strategy by activating the immune system against cancerous cells. The present review discusses in detail different strategies and mechanisms of probiotics towards the prevention and treatment of CRC.
Highlights
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the number of expected cases is going to rise to 29.5 million by 2040 [1]
A differential apoptosis induction pattern on the Caco-2 cell line by pathogenic and commensal Escherichia coli strain, probiotic bacteria, and a gut bacterium Atopobiumminutum was demonstrated by Altonsy et al The findings demonstrated a strong apoptotic effect by pathogenic E. coli (Enteropathogenic (EPEC) 086 NCTC 8621 and Verocytotoxin VTEC Vt−NCTC 12900), mild apoptotic effect by probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium latis Bb12), and gut bacterium (Atopobiumminutum X67148), and no apoptotic effect by commensal E. coli K-12 strain
It is found that Probiotic Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus acidophilus when administered to AOM induced colorectal male BALB/c mice model inhibited the expression of oncomirs such as miR-135b, miR-155 and increased expression of miR-26b, miR-18a accompanied by regulating the expressions of KRAS, and tumor suppressor genes such as PU.1, APC, PTEN [109]
Summary
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the number of expected cases is going to rise to 29.5 million by 2040 [1]. The factors, including nutrition, stress condition, lack of physical activity, alcohol consumption, and prolonged medications, often create an imbalance in intestinal microflora and inflammation, leading to inflammatory bowel disease; the long-term acute inflammation may lead to the development of cancer in the colon. The probiotics are known to have an immunomodulatory role and different health benefits, which can be used in the prevention and treatment of CRC, restore the dysbiotic intestinal microflora, and work in coordination with immune cells to fight against the disease. The primary mechanisms include the establishment of eubiosis condition, improvement of the intestinal barrier function, modulation of the intestinal immune system, production of anticarcinogenic compounds, and degradation of the carcinogenic compounds in the intestinal milieu These organisms induce pro-apoptotic and antiproliferative effects on the cancerous cells, which suggests their possible implications in the treatment of CRC. The ability for becoming a possible treatment strategy for colorectal cancer due toa its anticancer and immunomodulatory becoming a possible treatment strategy for colorectal cancer due to its anticancer and immunomodulatory properties
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