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Perioperative or Postoperative Probiotics Reduce Treatment-Related Complications in Adult Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed to assess the efficacy of perioperative or postoperative probiotics as a therapeutic approach for managing colorectal cancer treatment–related complications in patients undergoing surgery, with or without adjuvant therapy.

Methods

MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus databases were searched.

Results

Ten RCTs with 1276 patients were included. There was a significant decrease in the incidence of diarrhea (odds ratio (OR) 0.42; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.55; p < 0.001), surgical site infection (OR 0.44; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.89; p = 0.023), urinary infection (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.91; p = 0.028), pulmonary infection (OR 0.30; 95% CI 0.15 to 0.60; p < 0.001), abdominal distention (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.76; p = 0.004), length of ATB therapy (mean difference (MD) − 1.66 days; 95% CI − 2.13 to − 1.19 days; p < 0.001), and duration of postoperative pyrexia (MD − 0.80 days; 95% CI − 1.38 to − 0.22 days; p = 0.007) in the probiotic group. Nevertheless, length of hospital stay, time to first defecation, and time to first solid diet were not different between groups.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that perioperative or postoperative probiotics is effective for reducing treatment-related complications in patients with colorectal cancer undergoing surgery, with a lower rate of adverse events.

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Data Availability

All data utilized in this systematic review and meta-analysis were obtained exclusively from publicly available databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus. No private or proprietary data were used in this study.

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Author notes

  1. J.E.P. and P.V. contributed equally and designated as co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciuma, Brazil

    Jorge Eduardo Persson & Patricia Viana

  2. Department of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil

    Marina Persson

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Conjunto Hospitalar do Mandaqui, São Paulo, Brazil

    Jessica H. Relvas

  4. Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciuma, Brazil

    Lucineia G. Danielski

Authors
  1. Jorge Eduardo Persson
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Contributions

J.E.P.: conceptualization, study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and writing (original draft, review, and editing). P.V.: conceptualization, study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and writing (original draft, review, and editing). M.P.: quality assessment and writing (original draft). J.H.R.: quality assessment and writing (original draft). L.G.D.: conceptualization and writing (review and editing). Author J.E.P. and author P.V. contributed equally to this paper.

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Correspondence to Lucineia G. Danielski.

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Persson, J.E., Viana, P., Persson, M. et al. Perioperative or Postoperative Probiotics Reduce Treatment-Related Complications in Adult Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Gastrointest Canc (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-024-01016-8

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