Is there a role for carbohydrate restriction in the treatment and prevention of cancer
TLDR
The possible beneficial effects of low CHO diets on cancer prevention and treatment are addressed, with emphasis on the role of insulin and IGF1 signaling in tumorigenesis as well as altered dietary needs of cancer patients.Abstract:
Over the last years, evidence has accumulated suggesting that by systematically reducing the amount of dietary carbohydrates (CHOs) one could suppress, or at least delay, the emergence of cancer, and that proliferation of already existing tumor cells could be slowed down. This hypothesis is supported by the association between modern chronic diseases like the metabolic syndrome and the risk of developing or dying from cancer. CHOs or glucose, to which more complex carbohydrates are ultimately digested, can have direct and indirect effects on tumor cell proliferation: first, contrary to normal cells, most malignant cells depend on steady glucose availability in the blood for their energy and biomass generating demands and are not able to metabolize significant amounts of fatty acids or ketone bodies due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Second, high insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels resulting from chronic ingestion of CHO-rich Western diet meals, can directly promote tumor cell proliferation via the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway. Third, ketone bodies that are elevated when insulin and blood glucose levels are low, have been found to negatively affect proliferation of different malignant cells in vitro or not to be usable by tumor cells for metabolic demands, and a multitude of mouse models have shown antitumorigenic properties of very low CHO ketogenic diets. In addition, many cancer patients exhibit an altered glucose metabolism characterized by insulin resistance and may profit from an increased protein and fat intake. In this review, we address the possible beneficial effects of low CHO diets on cancer prevention and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the role of insulin and IGF1 signaling in tumorigenesis as well as altered dietary needs of cancer patients.read more
Citations
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Long-Chain Fatty Acid Analogues Suppress Breast Tumorigenesis and Progression
Udi Gluschnaider,Rachel Hertz,Sarit Ohayon,Elia Smeir,Martha Smets,Eli Pikarsky,Jacob Bar-Tana +6 more
TL;DR: Novel antidiabetic MEDICA analogues consisting of methyl-substituted LCFA that are neither β-oxidized nor esterified to generate lipids are investigated, suggesting their potential efficacy as antitumor agents in the context of breast cancer.
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Effect of Intermittent versus Chronic Calorie Restriction on Tumor Incidence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies.
TL;DR: The evidence suggests that ICR exerts greater anticancer effect in genetically engineered mouse models but weaker cancer prevention benefit in chemically induced rat models as compared to CCR.
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Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet score and risk of incident cancer; a prospective cohort study
Lena Maria Nilsson,Anna Winkvist,Ingegerd Johansson,Bernt Lindahl,Göran Hallmans,Per Lenner,Bethany Van Guelpen +6 more
TL;DR: LCHP score was not related to cancer risk, except for a non-dose-dependent, positive association for respiratory tract cancer that was statistically significant in men, and other analyses were largely consistent with the main results.
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Restricting carbohydrates to fight head and neck cancer——is this realistic?
TL;DR: Three specific rationales for CHO restriction and nutritional ketosis as supportive treatment options for the HNC patient are presented, targeting the origin and specific aspects of tumor glycolysis, protecting normal tissue from but sensitizing tumor tissue to radiation- and chemotherapy induced cell kill, and supporting body and muscle mass maintenance.
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Glucose restriction decreases telomerase activity and enhances its inhibitor response on breast cancer cells: possible extra-telomerase role of BIBR 1532.
TL;DR: The results suggest that the effect of BIBR 1532 is potentiated by GR to induce triple negative breast cancer cell death.
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