{"id":153513,"date":"2026-06-03T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=153513"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:29:02","slug":"ucf-researcher-studying-probiotics-to-fight-acid-reflux-esophageal-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-researcher-studying-probiotics-to-fight-acid-reflux-esophageal-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Researcher Studying Probiotics to Fight Acid Reflux, Esophageal Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ 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..<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Medicine Associate Professor Claudia Andl, a throat and oral cancer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/research\/\">researcher<\/a>, 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\u2019s Florida Cancer Innovation Fund.<\/p>\n<p>Probiotics are live microorganisms \u2014 usually bacteria or yeasts \u2014 that support and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/health-and-human-performance\/\">strengthen health<\/a> by increasing the body\u2019s population of healthy cells. Many people take probiotics to improve gut health and digestion. Andl\u2019s research is focused on using a healthy bacteria called <em>Lactobacillus spp. <\/em>to treat esophageal damage caused by acid reflux and improve the microbial environment in the esophagus to reduce the risk of cancer.<\/p>\n<p>In patients with acid reflux \u2014 as well as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic and more severe form of the digestive condition \u2014 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\u2019s esophagus, which increases the risk for esophageal cancer. In addition, when the throat\u2019s 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 <em>Lactobacillus spp. <\/em>into disease models has solved both issues.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe 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. And it\u2019s the same in the esophagus.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe reintroduction of beneficial bacteria works two-fold,\u201d Andl says. \u201cIt restores a normal environment again, but also these <em>Lactobacilli<\/em> are known to suppress inflammation and repair the DNA damage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe 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,\u201d Andl continues. \u201cAnd it\u2019s the same in the esophagus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Early results have shown a reduction in Barrett\u2019s esophagus, and if cancer develops at all, it occurs much later than in models not treated with the probiotic.<\/p>\n<p>Andl says she hopes her research will inform new therapies and provide more information on how to keep the body\u2019s microbial balance healthy to fight disease. She notes this is especially important as data also shows Barett\u2019s esophagus and esophageal cancer are increasing in patients under ages 60-70, the average age for these patient populations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe aim to improve outcomes for the large number of reflux patients at risk for cancer,\u201d Andl says. \u201cPlaying a role in that would be incredibly rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Andl joined Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ 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.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>This research is sponsored by the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund and the Florida Department of Health.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Associate Professor Claudia Andl is examining how a simple probiotic can treat the damage from acid reflux disease, a condition that affects one-fourth of Americans and increases their risk for esophageal cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":153514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[54184,979,22543],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-153513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-claudia-andl","tag-college-of-medicine","tag-healthcare"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Researcher Studying Probiotics to Fight Acid Reflux, Esophageal Cancer | Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Associate Professor Claudia Andl is examining how a simple probiotic can treat the damage from acid reflux 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