Understanding the potential of probiotics in oral cancer prevention: a short review on microbial modulation

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by dhado

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains a pressing public health challenge, with stagnant survival rates and limited preventive progress. Beyond established risks such as tobacco and alcohol, microbial dysbiosis is implicated, including increased Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis, driving tumor initiation and progression via inflammation, epithelial transformation, and immune escape. This narrative review summarizes evidence connecting oral microbiota to OSCC and highlights probiotics as modulators of microbial balance, inflammation, and epithelial homeostasis. Preclinical studies suggest strain-specific antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects, including engineered probiotics targeting tumor-promoting microbes, while robust clinical trials are still needed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

1 Introduction

Rivera Discover Oncology (2026) 17:4 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-04020-x](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-04020-x) Discover Oncology REVIEW Open Access Understanding the potential of probiotics in oral cancer prevention: a short review on microbial modulation César Rivera 1* *Correspondence: César Rivera[cerivera@utalca.cl](cerivera@utalca.cl) 1Laboratorio de Histopatología Oral y Maxilofacial, Departamento de Estomatología, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de Talca, Avenida Lircay S/N, Campus Norte Universidad de Talca, Edificio de Ciencias Biomédicas, Oficina, No. 4, Talca, Chile Abstract Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains a pressing public health challenge, with stagnant survival rates and limited progress in preventive strategies. In addition to classical risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol consumption, recent evidence highlights the role of microbial dysbiosis, particularly the overrepresentation of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis, in promoting tumor initiation and progression through inflammation, epithelial transformation, and immune escape. This narrative review aims to summarize and discuss the current evidence linking the oral microbiota to the development of OSCC, with a particular focus on the potential role of probiotics as modulators of microbial balance, inflammation, and epithelial homeostasis. Probiotics have emerged as potential modulators of these carcinogenic processes. Emerging data indicate that specific probiotic strains, including Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus salivarius, Streptococcus salivarius, and Lactobacillus acidophilus, show antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects in preclinical models. These include the inhibition of oncogenic bacteria, restoration of microbial equilibrium, downregulation of pro-inflammatory pathways, and enhancement of anti-tumor immunity. Engineered probiotics producing guided antimicrobial peptides (gAMPs), synthetic molecules specifically designed to target tumor-promoting microbes, further exemplify the potential of precision microbial modulation. However, most available evidence derives from experimental or smallscale human studies, with limited data directly addressing oral cancer prevention. Probiotics represent a promising, biologically plausible approach to modulating the oral microenvironment in ways that may reduce carcinogenic risk. While preliminary evidence supports their mechanistic and translational potential, robust clinical trials are needed to validate their safety and efficacy as adjuncts in oral cancer prevention. Keywords Probiotics, Oral neoplasms, Microbiota, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Immunomodulation 1 Introduction Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for most oral malignancies and remains a global health challenge with a persistently low five-year survival rate, often below 50%, particularly in low-resource settings. This poor prognosis reflects not only delayed © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommo

FAQs

What role does oral microbiota play in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)?

Evidence indicates that microbial dysbiosis can modulate tumor initiation and progression. Key mechanisms include chronic inflammation, epithelial changes, and immune escape.

How might probiotics contribute to oral cancer prevention?

Probiotics may restore microbial equilibrium, downregulate pro-inflammatory pathways, enhance anti-tumor immunity, and inhibit oncogenic bacteria. Some strains show these effects in preclinical models.

Which probiotic strains and strategies are highlighted in the review?

The review mentions strains such as Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus salivarius, Streptococcus salivarius, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. It also discusses engineered probiotics producing guided antimicrobial peptides targeting tumor-promoting microbes.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by dhado