Abstract
Intestinal mucositis, a cytotoxic side effect of the antineoplastic drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is characterized by ulceration, inflammation, diarrhea, and intense abdominal pain, making it an important issue for clinical medicine. Given the seriousness of the problem, therapeutic alternatives have been sought as a means to ameliorate, prevent, and treat this condition. Among the alternatives available to address this side effect of treatment with 5-FU, the most promising has been the use of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and paraprobiotics. This review addresses the administration of these “biotics” as a therapeutic alternative for intestinal mucositis caused by 5-FU. It describes the effects and benefits related to their use as well as their potential for patient care.
Highlights
Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of cells with cellular differentiation properties, having the capacity to invade tissues and organs and spread to other regions of the body, causing metastases (World Health Organization [WHO], 2018)
We address the evidence for the suitability of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and paraprobiotics as a therapeutic alternative for intestinal mucositis caused by the antineoplastic drug 5-FU
From 20 to 40% of the patients treated with the standard dose of this drug (10–15 mg/kg body weight, for 3– 4 days intravenously) develop some degree of mucositis, and about 80–100% of the patients treated with high doses (350– 500 mg/kg body weight) develop gastrointestinal tract (GIT) problems (Crombie and Longo, 2016; Cinausero et al, 2017)
Summary
Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of cells with cellular differentiation properties, having the capacity to invade tissues and organs and spread to other regions of the body, causing metastases (World Health Organization [WHO], 2018). LAB mainly include the genera Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Lactococcus, Pediococcus, and Streptococcus, among others, and constitute a group of Gram-positive microorganisms, anaerobic or aerotolerant, non-spore forming, resistant to low pH, and able to produce lactic acid as the final product of the fermentation of carbohydrates (Wang Y. et al, 2016; Mokoena, 2017; Plavec and Berlec, 2019) These bacteria have been used for a long time in several industrial processes for the production of fermented foods, such as cheese, yogurts, etc. These organisms have been explored for protein heterology production and as live delivery systems for gene and biotherapeutic vaccines, with potential applications for the treatment and prevention of various pathological conditions, in both human and veterinary medicine (Carvalho et al, 2017; Gomes-Santos et al, 2017; LeCureux and Dean, 2018; Kuczkowska et al, 2019)
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