Synbiotics in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cancer is a deadly disease that affect a wide range of population worldwide. It is accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths. The more common are breast, lung, colon and rectum, and prostate. Heterogenicity of cancers, resistance for drugs used, late diagnosis, drug resistance, late diagnosis, non-selectivity of drugs towards cancer cell are the main challenges towards the treatment of cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the cancer of liver. In early-stage diagnosis, it may be treatable by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy. Once it is metastasized it is difficult to cure. The treatment is dependent on the condition of the patient and liver transplant can be performed in early stages. The adverse effects of presently available chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the main drawback for the treatment of HCC. Synbiotics are the combination of pre- and probiotics. Synbiotics have major use in effective treatment of various diseases including cardiovascular, reproductive, metabolic, neurodegenerative, gastrointestinal, thrombotic, skin, inflammatory disorders, and cancer. In recent years, synbiotics have come up as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of various cancers including HCC. Proper use of synbiotics have marked impact on the multiplication of beneficial microbes and these microbes have significant role in the cancer pathophysiology. Moreover, these microbes can influence the environment of tumor cell. These microbiotas have the role in modifying the inflammatory and immune response of tumor cell. Use of synbiotics as monotherapy or in combination with other agents can reduce the severity of HCC. However, further studies are required to prove the above statements.