Low fat diets could prevent cancer growth: Study
Low fat diet. Patients diagnosed with IDH1 mutant cancer should avoid foods that are high in saturated fats.
Cancers with IDH1 mutations are addicted to lipids
Canberra, Australia | BAZZUP | A low fat diet could hold the key to stopping cancer growth, an Australian research has found.
Researchers from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the University of Adelaide dispelled the myth that diets have no effect on malignancies by discovering that tumours with IDH1 gene mutations cannot grow without lipids, or fats present in foods like butter.
The IDH1 mutation rewires a cell to alter enzymatic performance and is frequently observed in many blood, bone, and brain malignancies.
According to a press release from the SAHMRI, lead author Daniel Thomas, a clinical haematologist, “we replicated the results in a range of cancer types, comparing a regular diet with one that was completely fat-free and were surprised to find tumors with IDH1 were stopped in their tracks when starved of lipids.”
Cancers with IDH1 mutations are hooked to lipids; they must consume them and produce them from scratch, unlike other tumors.
Thomas and his group will now try to confirm their findings over an extended period of time in humans.
He did, however, advise against consuming meals high in saturated fats if you have cancer that is IDH1 mutant.
The research group is hopeful that it will enable the SAHMRI to combine IDH1 targeting with proton and small molecule therapy, making it the first center of its kind in the world.
These results may potentially boost the survival rate of patients with IDH1 malignancies who have had proton therapy or radiation therapy, according to Thomas.
