Probiotics may prevent breast cancer: Study

    A new study has found probiotics may prove to be a critical factor in preventing breast cancer.

Dr Gregor Reid, the professor of microbiology, immunology and surgery at the Western University in Ontario, Canada, said the bacteria having the potential to abet breast cancer are present in the breasts of cancer patients, while beneficial bacteria are more abundant in healthy breasts.

American society for microbiology researchers has suggested these findings may ultimately lead to the use of probiotics to prevent cancer.

In the study, Reid's PhD student Camilla Urbaniak obtained breast tissues from 58 women, who were undergoing lumpectomies or mastectomies for either benign (13 women) or cancerous (45 women) tumors as well as from 23 healthy women, who had undergone breast reductions or enhancements.