Introduction: The absence of HER2, estrogen receptors, and progesterone receptors distinguishes the aggressive subtype of breast cancer known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC has fewer therapy choices than other forms of invasive breast cancer because of this. Because a variety of therapeutic approaches, including hormone therapy, rely on the expression of the aforementioned receptors. TNBC can currently be treated successfully with immunotherapy techniques such as targeted monoclonal antibodies, natural killer cell therapy, and therapeutic cancer vaccines. Immunotherapy response rates in TNBC patients, however, continue to be below average, necessitating the development of methods to increase its efficacy. Live microorganisms known as probiotics that help the host's health have drawn interest due to possible immunomodulatory effects. Probiotics may have an impact on the tumor microenvironment and immune response, according to several studies, which raises the possibility that they could boost the effectiveness of TNBC immunotherapy. The purpose of this review is to assess how probiotics affect TNBC's immunotherapy response.
Methods: A review has been written for this article. Based on keywords and their synonyms, a specific search strategy was chosen. Following that searches in the Google Scholar and PubMed databases were used to retrieve the articles. Only primary studies, including interventional and observational ones, were examined. Keywords included probiotics, TNBC and immunotherapy. The collected publications were examined subjectively and filtered based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results of the chosen articles were then given, along with the study's methodology and key findings.
Results: Probiotics may help TNBC patients respond more favorably to immunotherapy, according to preliminary research. Probiotics work by increasing anti-tumor immune responses, lowering immunosuppressive factors, altering the composition of the gut microbiota, and improving the effectiveness of cancer vaccinations. Probiotics can enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy in this way as an adjuvant therapy that is simple to administer and has few side effects.
Conclusion: Developing individualized treatment plans requires an understanding of how probiotics affect TNBC's response to immunotherapy. Utilizing probiotics as an additional therapy may provide a cutting-edge method to boost immunotherapy effectiveness, ultimately leading to better outcomes for TNBC patients. The discovery of novel therapeutic strategies for TNBC and perhaps other malignancies is possible with more research in this area. To clarify the underlying mechanisms and identify ideal probiotic formulations and treatment plans for TNBC patients, additional research is necessary.
Keywords: Probiotics - triple negative breast cancer - immunotherapy