{"id":58364,"date":"2018-02-08T11:23:34","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T11:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=58364"},"modified":"2018-02-08T11:23:34","modified_gmt":"2018-02-08T11:23:34","slug":"food-may-influence-cancer-spread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/health\/food-may-influence-cancer-spread.html","title":{"rendered":"Food may influence cancer spread"},"content":{"rendered":"

Food may influence cancer spread<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

There is mounting evidence the food on your plate can alter cancer’s growth and spread, say Cambridge scientists.<\/span><\/p>\n

Animal research, published in the journal Nature, showed breast tumours struggled without the dietary nutrient asparagine.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is found in the foodies’ favourite asparagus, as well as poultry, seafood and many other foods.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the future, scientists hope to take advantage of cancer’s “culinary addictions” to improve treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asparagine is an amino acid – a building block of protein – and takes its name from asparagus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spread<\/span><\/p>\n

The study, conducted at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, took place on mice with an aggressive form of breast cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Normally they would die in a couple of weeks as the tumour spread throughout the body.<\/span><\/p>\n

But when the mice were given a low-asparagine diet or drugs to block asparagine then the tumour struggled to spread.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It was a really huge change, [the cancers] were very difficult to find,” said Prof Greg Hannon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, the University of Glasgow showed cutting out the amino acids serine and glycine slowed the development of lymphoma and intestinal cancers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prof Hannon told the BBC: “We’re seeing increasing evidence that specific cancers are addicted to specific components of our diet.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In the future, by modifying a patient’s diet or by using drugs that change the way that tumour cells can access these nutrients we hope to improve outcomes in therapy.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Fruit and veg: For a longer life eat 10-a-day<\/span><\/p>\n

Controlled amino acid diet ‘could help cancer treatment’<\/span><\/p>\n

Cancer<\/span><\/p>\n

An initial tumour is rarely deadly. It is when the cancer spreads throughout the body – or metastasises – that it can become fatal.<\/span><\/p>\n

A cancerous cell must go through huge changes in order to spread – it must learn to break off the main tumour, survive in the bloodstream and thrive elsewhere in the body.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is this process for which researchers think asparagine is necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

But fear not asparagus lovers, these findings still need to be confirmed in people and asparagine is hard to avoid in the diet anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the long run, scientists think patients would be put on special drinks that are nutritionally balanced, but lack asparagine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prof Charles Swanton, Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician, said: “Interestingly, the drug L-asparaginase is used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is dependent on asparagine.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s possible that in future, this drug could be repurposed to help treat breast cancer patients.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Further trials are still necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baroness Delyth Morgan, the chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said patients should not go on drastic diets on the back of this study.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said: “We don’t recommend patients totally exclude any specific food group from their diet without speaking to their doctors.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We’d also encourage all patients to follow a healthy and varied diet.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/health-42976851<\/span><\/p>\n

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