Anti-cancer and Biotherapeutic Potentials of Probiotic Bacteria

Abstract

Cancer is a deadly disease with high clinical significance and is mostly diagnosed at a late stage. It is defined as uncontrolled cell growth [1], and as a disease caused by a deficiency in DNA repair [2]. The mechanisms that initiate cancer remain unclear. To date, chemotherapeutics are the standard drugs used in the clinical treatment of cancer. However, these compounds are accompanied with considerable and complicated lifethreatening side effects that most times gets worse than the tumour. As a protective alternative, recent research has focused on the biotherapeutic potentials of probiotic bacteria in cancer treatment. Supplementation with probiotics is proposed to improve quality of life during and after chemotherapy treatment. This is because these bacteria are generally regarded as safe, have long history of usage and affordable than chemotherapy.