Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2025

08:39
Culture of Bladder Cancer Organoids as Precision Medicine Tools
Published on: December 28, 2021
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Bladder Cancer and Probiotics: What Do We Know So Far?
Pedro Sánchez-Pellicer1, Claudia Boix-Rodríguez2, Adriana Hernández-Belmonte1,3
1MiBioPath Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), Campus de los Jerónimos 135, 30107 Murcia, Spain.
Cancers
|December 9, 2023
Summary
Urinary microbiota may play a role in bladder cancer development. Probiotics show potential as an adjuvant therapy to reduce bladder cancer recurrence after surgery.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Oncology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Bladder cancer is a significant health concern with considerable mortality.
- Emerging research challenges the notion of a sterile bladder, highlighting the presence of urinary microbiota.
- Limited studies have detailed urinary microbiota in bladder cancer patients, showing high variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current evidence on the role of urinary microbiota in bladder cancer pathophysiology.
- To explore the therapeutic potential of probiotics as an adjuvant treatment for bladder cancer.
Main Methods:
- This narrative review compiles existing research on urinary microbiota and bladder cancer.
- It examines in vitro, animal, and limited human studies on probiotic interventions.
Main Results:
- Urinary microbiota is increasingly recognized as a factor in bladder cancer.
- Probiotics have demonstrated promising results in preliminary in vitro and animal studies.
- Human studies on probiotics for bladder cancer are scarce.
Conclusions:
- Further research is needed to establish the beneficial effects of probiotics in managing bladder cancer.
- Probiotics may offer a potential adjuvant therapy to decrease recurrence rates or extend disease-free periods post-surgery.

