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Procaccianti et al. Microbiome Res Rep 2023;2:24 Microbiome Research
DOI: 10.20517/mrr.2023.23
Reports

Review Open Access

Bifidobacterium in anticancer
immunochemotherapy: friend or foe?

1,2
1
1
2
1,2
Giorgia Procaccianti , Sara Roggiani , Gabriele Conti , Patrizia Brigidi , Silvia Turroni , Federica
D’Amico 1,2
1
Unit of Microbiome Science and Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna
40126, Italy.
2
Microbiomics Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40138, Italy.
Correspondence to: Prof. Silvia Turroni, Unit of Microbiome Science and Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy and
Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, Bologna 40126, Italy. E-mail: silvia.turroni@unibo.it
How to cite this article: Procaccianti G, Roggiani S, Conti G, Brigidi P, Turroni S, D’Amico F. Bifidobacterium in anticancer
immunochemotherapy: friend or foe? Microbiome Res Rep 2023;2:24. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/mrr.2023.23
Received: 8 Apr 2023 First Decision: 2 Jun 2023 Revised: 20 Jun 2023 Accepted: 3 Jul 2023 Available online: 10 Jul 2023

Academic Editor: Christian Milani Copy Editor: Lin He Production Editor: Lin He

Abstract
The gut microbiome has received a crescendo of attention in recent years due to myriad influences on human
pathophysiology, including cancer. Anticancer therapy research is constantly looking for new hints to improve
response to therapy while reducing the risk of relapse. In this scenario, Bifidobacterium, which inhabits the gut
microbial ecosystem (especially that of children) and is considered a health-associated microbe, has emerged as a
key target to assist anticancer treatments for a better prognosis. However, some researchers have recently
hypothesized an unfavorable role of Bifidobacterium spp. in anticancer immunochemotherapy, leading to some
confusion in the field. This narrative review summarizes the current knowledge on the role of Bifidobacterium spp.
in relation to anticancer treatments, discussing the pros and cons of its presence in the gut microbiome of cancer
patients. The current intervention strategies based on the administration of probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium are
then discussed. Finally, the need to conduct further studies, especially functional ones, is underlined to provide
robust experimental evidence, especially on the underlying molecular mechanisms, and thus resolve the
controversies on this microbe for the long-term success of immunochemotherapy.

Keywords: Bifidobacterium, anti-inflammatory, pro-inflammatory, lactate, cancer, immunochemotherapy, response
to therapy

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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commercially, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative
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