NUMERO: #20260038

Título: Probiotics as a Strategy for Reducing Oral Mucositis: Clinical Evidence, Biological Mechanisms, and Translational Perspe

Nome do Apresentador: Luciana Vieira MUNIZ

Categoria do Trabalho: Pôster - Investigação Original (IO)

Área Temática: Oncologia

Resumo: Background: Oral mucositis (OM) remains one of the most frequent and dose-limiting toxicities in patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC).
Objective: To synthesize the biological rationale and clinical evidence supporting probiotic use for the prevention and mitigation of OM in oncology.
Methods: Structured narrative review of translational studies, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and contemporary meta-analyses evaluating probiotics in patients receiving cancer therapy, with emphasis on HNC.
Results: Mechanistically, OM is not solely an epithelial injury but a complex immunobiological event involving NF-κB activation, cytokine amplification, microbiome dysbiosis, and epithelial barrier disruption. Emerging evidence suggests that radiation and chemotherapy-induced oral dysbiosis amplifies mucosal inflammation via pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Probiotics may counteract this cascade by modulating Th17/Treg balance, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, enhancing epithelial integrity, and competitively inhibiting pathogenic bacteria. Across pooled analyses (approximately 10 RCTs; >1,000 patients), probiotics reduced the relative risk of severe OM by ~35-45%, with multi-strain formulations demonstrating greater effect sizes than single-strain approaches.
Conclusions: Current evidence supports a biologically plausible and clinically consistent signal favoring probiotics for reducing severe OM. However, heterogeneity in strains, dosing, and study design limits definitive guideline integration. .

Autor 1:  Luciana Vieira MUNIZ

E-mail 1:  [email protected]

Autor 2:   Ana Gabriela Silva Oliveira

E-mail 2:  [email protected]

Autor 3 :  Rosy Iara Maciel Azambuja Ribeiro

E-mail 3:  [email protected]