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The effects of probiotics on colon cancer development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2007

Joseph Rafter
Joseph Rafter*
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM, S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden
*
Corresponding author: Dr Joseph Rafter, fax +46 8 711 66 59, email [email protected]
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Abstract

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While several effects beneficial to health have been attributed to the probiotic lactic acid bacteria, perhaps the most interesting and controversial remains that of anti-cancer activity. The vast majority of studies in this area deal with protective effects against colon cancer. There is no direct experimental evidence for cancer suppression in human subjects as a result of the consumption of probiotic cultures in fermented or unfermented dairy products. However, there is a wealth of indirect evidence, based largely on laboratory studies. Reports in the literature, regarding the anti-cancer effects of lactic acid bacteria, fall into the following categories: in vitro studies, animal studies, epidemiological studies and human dietary intervention studies. Examples of these reports will be given in the present review. The mechanisms by which probiotic bacteria may inhibit colon cancer are still poorly understood. However, several potential mechanisms are being discussed in the literature and these will also be addressed in the present review.

Keywords

Colon cancerProbioticsCancer prevention
Type
Research Article
Information
Nutrition Research Reviews , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , December 2004 , pp. 277 - 284
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2004

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