SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1635409
This article is part of the Research TopicUnlocking the Potential of the Microbiome in Cancer TherapyView all 4 articles
Probiotics/synbiotics supplementation reduce the infection incidence in patients undergoing resection for colorectal cancer: An umbrella review
Provisionally accepted
- Colorectal Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University/ West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China., Chengdu, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract Objectives: This study reviews meta-analyses of perioperative supplementation with probiotics/synbiotics in colorectal cancer (CRC), systematically assessing the quality of meta-analyses and synthesizing study results to provide robust evidence. Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The search was conducted by two authors in four databases, PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE and Web of Science, up until August 3rd, 2025, and conducted independent assessments of the methodological quality of the meta-analysis via A Measure Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2. Results: A total of 11 meta-analyses were included in this umbrella review. 3 meta-analyses rated ' Critically low ' shared ≥3 critical flaws and 2 high-rated reviews adhered to ≥80% AMSTAR 2 criteria. Compared with the control group, the probiotic/synbiotic group presented lower incidence rates of overall infections (OR 0.49, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.56; P<0. 001, I² = 6%), surgical site infections (OR 0.58, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.67; P<0.00001, I² = 0%), urinary tract infections (OR 0.39, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.54; P<0. 00001, I² = 0%), and pneumonia infections (OR 0.34, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.45; P<0. 00001, I² = 0%), and diarrhea incidence (OR 0.41, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.51; P<0. 00001, I² = 0%). Conclusion: According to the results of our analyses, perioperative probiotic/synbiotic supplementation in CRC patients is associated with a reduced incidence of overall infections, surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia infections, and diarrhea. Keywords: Probiotic; synbiotic; prebiotic; colorectal cancer; gut microbiota; umbrella review
Keywords: Synbiotic, prebiotic, colorectal cancer, Gut Microbiota, Umbrella review
Received: 26 May 2025; Accepted: 29 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gao, Liao, He and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jie Yang, Colorectal Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University/ West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China., Chengdu, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.