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Diet is already a key element in the management of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, but new research adds to a growing body of evidence of its potential utility.
The study, published Thursday in the journal Nature, revealed that reducing the intake of an amino acid present in red meat and eggs significantly improved the treatment of cancer in mice, slowing tumor growth.
"These are very strong effects, and they are effects that are as strong as we would see with drugs that work," said lead researcher Jason Locasale, badociate professor at the Duke University School of Medicine.
"What this study shows is that there are many situations in which a drug in itself does not work, but if you combine the drug on a diet, it works or radiotherapy does not work well, but if you combine … with the diet, it works well, "he told AFP.
The study is focused on limiting the consumption of the amino acid methionine, which is key to a process called monocarbon metabolism that helps cancer cells to grow.
Methionine restriction has already been badociated with both aging and weight loss, but its importance to cancer cells has suggested that it may also be a promising way to improve cancer treatment.
– "Starve the cancer" –
Researchers first tested methionine restriction in healthy mice to confirm that it produced the desired effects on metabolism and then tested in mice with colorectal cancer and tissue sarcomas soft.
They discovered that a low dose of chemotherapy, which had no effect on colorectal cancer, led to a "marked inhibition of tumor growth" when it was badociated with a restriction by methionine .
Similarly, the reduction of methionine badociated with radiotherapy in the case of soft tissue sarcoma reduced tumor growth.
"You starve the cancer cells of certain nutrients, at a very basic level," Locasale explained.
He warned that the results should not be extrapolated beyond the cancers tested so far, and that research was far from being tested in humans.
"This is certainly not a panacea, a plague for cancer, it is not a panacea," he said.
"What this shows is that there are very interesting interactions between the foods we eat, how does that change the metabolism … and then, how would these changes in cellular metabolism have an effect?" on tumor growth. "
Independent experts also cautioned against over-reading the study.
"Before drawing conclusions about the potential for dietary restriction as an approach to treating cancer, human studies are needed," said Paul Pharoah, professor of cancer epidemiology at the University. from Cambridge.
– "Really exciting" –
Locasale and his colleagues continued the research by testing a restricted diet of methionine in six healthy humans. They found that the effect on human metabolism seemed similar to that seen in mice.
This suggests that the diet could have a similar effect on some tumors in humans, although Locasale warned that it was far too early to draw any definitive conclusions.
And Tom Sanders, emeritus professor of nutrition and dietetics at King's College London, warned that "there is no evidence in this study that suggests following a vegan diet with a help for cancer patients ".
Locasale said he hoped to eventually be able to test research on cancer patients, but said that nutrition research often had trouble getting funds because it offered treatments that were difficult to monetize.
Nevertheless, he added that this work adds to the many research suggesting that diet could play an important role in the treatment of cancer.
Last year, a study showed that a type of chemotherapy drug was more effective in combination with a diet low in sugar and high in protein and fat. It seems that other cancers are better combated in combination with a diet low in sugar.
"It's a really exciting field right now … where we see that diet has a huge effect on human health," Locasale said.
He hopes for a future where doctors can eventually advise cancer patients to follow a specific diet to help with their treatment.
"We are not there yet, but the goal is to reach the end.
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