Probiotics as a preventive strategy for surgical infection in colorectal cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Infection following abdominal surgery remains a major factor in morbidity among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Probiotic therapy has been suggested to improve the clinical and laboratory outcome of patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of probiotic lactic acid bacteria in patients with CRC in the pre- and postoperative phases.