Patients with acid reflux, which occurs when stomach acid pushes up into the esophagus, know the symptoms all too well: heartburn, belching, chest pain and trouble swallowing. In addition to these ailments, acid reflux also increases the risk of esophageal cancer, which has a five-year survival rate of about 22%, according to the American Cancer Society.
UCF College of Medicine Associate Professor Claudia Andl, a throat and oral cancer researcher, is investigating how a simple probiotic could treat and prevent both conditions. The research is funded by a one-year, more than $380,000 grant from the Florida Department of Health's Florida Cancer Innovation Fund.
Probiotics are live microorganisms - usually bacteria or yeasts - that support and strengthen health by increasing the body's population of healthy cells. Many people take probiotics to improve gut health and digestion. Andl's research is focused on using a healthy bacteria called Lactobacillus spp. to treat esophageal damage caused by acid reflux and improve the microbial environment in the esophagus to reduce the risk of cancer.
In patients with acid reflux - as well as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic and more severe form of the digestive condition - stomach acid burns through the lining of the esophagus, causing inflammation and DNA damage to surrounding cells. Over time, those cellular changes can create a condition called Barrett's esophagus, which increases the risk for esophageal cancer. In addition, when the throat's bacterial environment becomes dominated by stomach acids and salts, healthy bacteria struggle to survive. Harmful bacteria take their place, causing further cell damage and inflammation that increases cancer risk. Introducing Lactobacillus spp. into disease models has solved both issues.
The reintroduction of beneficial bacteria works two-fold. It restores a normal environment again, but also these Lactobacilli are known to suppress inflammation and repair the DNA damage."
Claudia Andl, Associate Professor, UCF College of Medicine
"We all talk about how important it is to eat yogurt or drink kombucha so that we maintain a healthy bacterial residence in all your organs," Andl continues. "And it's the same in the esophagus."
Early results have shown a reduction in Barrett's esophagus, and if cancer develops at all, it occurs much later than in models not treated with the probiotic.
Andl says she hopes her research will inform new therapies and provide more information on how to keep the body's microbial balance healthy to fight disease. She notes this is especially important as data also shows Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer are increasing in patients under ages 60-70, the average age for these patient populations.
"We aim to improve outcomes for the large number of reflux patients at risk for cancer," Andl says. "Playing a role in that would be incredibly rewarding."
Andl joined UCF in 2016 after receiving her Ph.D. in cell biology from the University Duisburg-Essen in Germany and conducting postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania.
New PET imaging tracks tumor progression and cardiac inflammation during cancer therapy