Probiotics Formulation and Cancer Nanovaccines in Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract Cancer

Probiotics are well known to execute crucial functions in the regulation of the immune system. The combination of probiotics with cancer vaccines has the potential to yield a synergistic outcome. To optimize the effectiveness of probiotics, the utilization of a suitable probiotic formulation becomes imperative. Within this context, the encapsulation of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium longum with a lipid membrane is implemented to pursue the objective of minimizing loss of activity and enhancing colonization in the colon. In a murine model of subcutaneously transplanted colon cancer, the probiotics formulation exhibited substantial preventive and therapeutic efficacy, a trait that could be further enhanced through the confluence with cancer nanovaccines. The probiotics formulation may act as adjuvants to amplify the innate immune response or function as in-situ cancer vaccines. In several studies focusing on the prevention of chemically induced orthotopic colon cancer, the probiotics formulation in isolation effectively decreased the number of tumors in the colon, with an augmented efficacy observed when combined with cancer nanovaccines. Collectively, these investigations underscore that probiotics formulation can optimize the efficacy of cancer nanovaccines. In this book chapter, we comprehensively discuss the recent development of cancer nanovaccine research in gastrointestinal cancers and the prospect of introducing probiotic formulations in combination with cancer nanovaccines as potential preventive and therapeutic interventions.