Cancer is a serious global public health problem and incidence and mortality have been steadily rising throughout the past century in most places of the world.
There are several epidemiological evidences that support a protective role of probiotics against cancer. Probiotics are live bacteria that could exert health beneficial effects upon consumption. At least one-half of all cancers are suggested to have a dietary component. Therefore many of the dietary agents and natural health products have attracted the attention of scientists. In addition to regulation of intestinal epithelial homeostasis and immune responses, certain probiotics have been reported to activate anticancer mechanisms.
In-vivo and molecular studies have demonstrated encouraging outcomes, mainly attributed to its antimicrobial effects against carcinogen-producing microorganisms, antimutagenic properties, and alteration of the tumor differentiation processes.
The use of probiotics to prevent colon cancer has gained much attention due to positive outcomes. The increased interest in these areas demonstrated the need for further evaluation to better understand the exact mechanisms involved, and to generate uncontroversial experimental evidence.
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