Efficacy of probiotics combined with enteral nutrition therapy on intestinal flora, digestive tract symptoms and endogenous environment in patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy

Objective: To investigate the effects of probiotics combined with enteral nutrition therapy on intestinal flora, digestive tract symptoms and endogenous environment in patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: In this retrospective study, eighty patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy admitted to Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University from January 2021 to September 2023 were included and divided into two groups by random number table method: the enteral nutrition group and the probiotics combined enteral nutrition group (n=40 each group). The differences in the number of intestinal flora, nutritional indicators, immune function, endotoxin, D-lactic acid levels between the two groups, and the digestive tract symptoms of the two groups before and after treatment were compared and recorded.

Results: The levels of serum total protein (TP), prealbumin (PAB), albumin (ALB) and transferrin (TF) in both groups were higher than those before treatment, and those in the probiotics combined with enteral nutrition group were higher than those in the enteral nutrition group (p< 0.05). The levels of immunoglobulin A (lgA), immunoglobulin M (lgM) and immunoglobulin G (lgG) in the two groups were lower than before treatment, and those in the probiotics combined with the enteral nutrition group were lower than those in the enteral nutrition group (p< 0.05).

Conclusion: Probiotics combined with enteral nutrition results in various benefits in the treatment of patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy, improving immunity, and reducing gastrointestinal symptoms.