Synbiotics for Easing Chemotherapy Side Effects in Breast Cancer Patients

Breast cancer has been on the rise, posing a growing threat to women's health worldwide. As the primary treatment, chemotherapy can be physically and emotionally taxing.

However, a new study delves into the potential benefits of synbiotics – a combination of probiotics (beneficial gut bacteria) and prebiotics (non-digestible fibers that support bacterial growth) – in mitigating the common side effects of chemotherapy.

In this study, 67 breast cancer patients participated, seeking relief from the burdensome side effects of chemotherapy.

The intervention involved an 8-week supplementation of synbiotics, with researchers carefully adjusting for confounding variables. The results were promising.

After the intervention period, the synbiotics group experienced a significant reduction in the severity of two common chemotherapy-related issues: abnormal bowel movements (P = 0.005) and fatigue (P < 0.001), compared to the placebo group.

Additionally, there was an improvement in nausea/vomiting (P = 0.015) and appetite loss (P < 0.001) by the end of the study, though statistical significance was not reached compared to the placebo group.

These findings highlight the potential of an 8-week synbiotics supplementation as a complementary approach to alleviating some of the challenging side effects faced by breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

While the study's results are promising, further well-designed clinical trials with larger sample sizes are needed to explore synbiotics' efficacy comprehensively. Additionally, establishing a standardized therapeutic protocol for synbiotic administration in such patients should be a focus of future research. Synbiotics may offer a ray of hope for breast cancer patients seeking relief from the burdens of chemotherapy.

References
Khazaei, Y., Basi, A., Fernandez, M.L. et al. The effects of synbiotics supplementation on reducing chemotherapy-induced side effects in women with breast cancer: a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial. BMC Complement Med Ther 23, 339 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-023-04165-8