Efficacy of Bifidobacterium Tetragenous Viable Bacteria Tablets for Cancer Patients with Functional Constipation

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and side effects of Bifidobacterium tetragenous viable bacteria tablets in treating cancer patients with functional constipation during chemotherapy. Methods: A consecutive cohort of 100 cancer patients with functional constipation were divided into two equal groups: patients in the experimental group were given Bifidobacterium tetragenous viable bacteria tablets combined with chemotherapy, while patients in the control group received chemotherapy alone. After 4 weeks, the efficacy and side effects in treating functional constipation were evaluated. Results: Constipation in 48 patients in experimental group was controlled (9 returned to normal), with a total response rate of 96%, and 1 patient reported diarrhea (2%). In contrast only 16 patients in the control group demonstrated improvement and 34 were still constipated after chemotherapy, with a response rate of 32%. The difference in response rate was statistically significant (P <0.05). Conclusion: This study suggested that Bifidobacterium tetragenous viable bacteria tablets are effective and safe in treating cancer patients with functional constipation during chemotherapy.

Bifidobacterium adolescentis Exerts Strain-Specific Effects on Constipation Induced by Loperamide in BALB/c Mice

“…Furthermore, Bifidobacteria produce lactic acid and acetic acid, which decrease the pH in the colon. This lower pH enhances peristalsis and decreases the colonic transit time, which is beneficial in the treatment of constipation [16,22]. This latter hypothesis was confirmed by showing a decrease in the colonic transit time in healthy adults who consumed a supplement with B. animalis [23].…”

Probiotic Supplements on Oncology Patients’ Treatment-Related Side Effects: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…The studies included in this review were heterogenous in the use of probiotic strains, where Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-5, BMC12130, LAC-361, and NCDO1748) was the most widely used strain among other 15 different strains, both in single strain [29,37] and multiple strain trials [25][26][27][28]31,34,42]. This heterogeneity added to the number of cancers included may explain some of the between-studies variability of the results [47].…”

“…Probiotics have been shown to be effective in the treatment of some common oncology treatment-related gastrointestinal adverse reactions, as demonstrated in 11 of 20 trials (55%) [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][33][34][35][36]. The main adverse effects identified and treated were mainly diarrhea, with other drawbacks being abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, constipation, bloating, abdominal distension, and lactose intolerance caused by chemotherapy.…”

Clinical Application of Serum Tumor Abnormal Protein (TAP) in Colorectal Cancer Patients

“…The study data was analyzed through the STATA 8.0 software (Stata Corporation, 4905 Lakeway Drive College Station, Texas 77845 USA). We have enough experience in conducting medical researches, and have published some result elsewhere (Huang et al, 2014;Ji et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2014;Tian et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2015;Wu et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2015).…”