Molecular mechanisms of postbiotics in colorectal cancer prevention and treatment

The occurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been rising expeditiously and anticipated that 2.4 million new occasions of CRC will be detected yearly around the world until the year 2035. Due to some side-effects and complications of conventional CRC therapies, bioactive components such as microbial-derived biomolecules (postbiotics) have been attaining great significance by researchers for adjuvant therapy in CRC patients. The term ‘postbiotics’ encompasses an extensive range of complex micro- and macro-molecules (<50, 50–100, and 100< kDa) such as inactivated microbial cells, cell fractions or metabolites, which confer various physiological health benefits to the host when administered in adequate amounts. Postbiotics modulate the composition of the gut microbiota and the functionality of the immune system, as well as promote the CRC treatment effectiveness and reduces its side-effects in CRC patients due to possessing anti-oxidant, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities. Presently scientific literature confirms that postbiotics with their unique characteristics in terms of clinical (safe origin), technological (stability), and economic (low production costs) aspects can be used as promising tools for both prevent and adjuvant treat strategies in CRC patients without any serious undesirable side-effects. This review provides an overview of the concept and safety issues regarding postbiotics, with emphasis on their biological role in the prevention and treatment of CRC.

结直肠癌（colorectal cancer, CRC）的发病率正快速攀升，预计到2035年，全球每年新增CRC病例将达240万例。受传统CRC治疗手段的副作用与并发症影响，微生物源生物分子（microbial-derived biomolecules，即后生元postbiotics）这类生物活性成分，作为CRC患者的辅助治疗方案，正受到研究者的广泛关注。“后生元”这一术语涵盖了广泛的复杂微观与宏观分子（分子量<50 kDa、50–100 kDa及>100 kDa），包括灭活微生物菌体、细胞组分或代谢产物，在以适宜剂量施用时，可对宿主产生多种生理健康益处。后生元可调节肠道菌群组成与免疫系统功能，同时因其具备抗氧化、抗增殖、抗炎及抗癌活性，能够提升CRC患者的治疗效果并降低治疗副作用。目前科研文献已证实，后生元凭借其在临床（来源安全）、技术（稳定性）及经济（生产成本低廉）层面的独特优势，可作为CRC患者预防与辅助治疗的极具潜力的手段，且无严重不良副作用。本综述概述了后生元的相关概念与安全性问题，重点探讨了其在CRC预防与治疗中的生物学作用。