Probiotics and quality of life improvement in cancer therapy

Gastrointestinal toxicity and mental fatigue are common with cancer therapy by reducing patient quality of life. In this observational study patients taking <i>Lactobacillus</i> probiotic had better role function (6.52 vs 6.20, p=0.016), emotional balance (11.96 vs 11.58, p=0.020) and cognitive clarity (6.42 vs 6.20, p=0.037) after 6 weeks. Diarrhoea severity was lower (0.78 vs 1.26, p<0.001) and fewer needed rescue loperamide (24% vs 44%, p=0.034). Thus, we show probiotics help patients adapt better to treatment stress and protect gut-brain axis during chemotherapy and radiotherapy.