Mego, M., Chovanec, J., Vochyanova-Andrezalova, I., Konkolovsky, P., Mikulova, M., Reckova, M., . . . Drgona, L. (2015). Prevention of irinotecan induced diarrhea by probiotics: A randomized double blind, placebo controlled pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 23, 356–362.
To determine if the probiotic Colon Dophilus is able to prevent irinotecan-induced diarrhea in patients with metastatic colon cancer
Placebo versus probiotic Colon Dophilus. The probiotic was given three times per day for 12 weeks while the patient received irinotecan.
Probiotics reduced the incidence of grade 3 or 4 diarrhea compared with placebo (0% versus 17.4% for control group). Patients who used probiotics reported using fewer antidiarrheal medications.
Probiotics appear to be safe and may be of use in irinotecan-induced diarrhea.
More research on the use of probiotics and irinotecan-based chemotherapy is needed.