Abstract
While a myriad of healthful effects have been attributed to the probiotic lactic acid bacteria, perhaps the most controversial remains that of anticancer activity. There is no direct experimental evidence for cancer suppression in humans as a result of consumption of lactic cultures in fermented or unfermented dairy products. However, there is a wealth of indirect evidence, based largely on laboratory studies, in the literature and this will be summarised in the present paper. Reports in the literature, regarding the anticancer effects of lactic acid bacteria, fall into the following categories: in vitro studies, in vivo studies in laboratory animals, epidemiological studies correlating cancer and certain dietary regimes and dietary intervention studies in human volunteers.
