Scientists have linked fructose consumption to the spread of ovarian cancer
Fructose has long been considered one of the most discussed components of the modern diet, but a new study has forced scientists to look at it from an unexpected angle. According to scientists, this sugar can act as a kind of "signal" between tumor cells, helping cancer spread after chemotherapy. How scientists came to such conclusions, whether this means the need to give up sweets and why the results should not yet be taken as a guide to action, is in the Izvestia article.
Why does the tumor return even after chemotherapy
A study conducted by scientists at the Wistar Institute and published on the Medical Xpress portal is devoted to one of the most difficult issues of ovarian cancer treatment. Despite the fact that most patients respond well to platinum-based chemotherapy in the early stages, the disease returns in most cases and almost always spreads through the abdominal cavity. It is metastases that cause about 90% of deaths in this type of cancer.
Aidan Cole, a researcher in the Catherine Aird laboratory at the Wistar Institute and the first author of the study
Some cancer cells that have survived chemotherapy no longer divide, but remain biologically active. Instead, they continue to secrete molecules that send signals to neighboring cells.
To test the role of these substances, the scientists collected molecules secreted by the cells that survived the treatment and used them in a preclinical model. It turned out that even without the tumor cells themselves, these signaling molecules significantly enhanced the cancer's ability to spread. According to Cole, as far as the researchers know, this is the first work that has shown in a preclinical model that it is the secreted molecules, rather than the cells themselves that have survived treatment, that can increase the spread of a tumor.
Fructose as a signal: what the researchers found
The next step was to find out which substances are responsible for this effect. Unexpectedly for the researchers themselves, one of the key "messengers" turned out to be fructose. The cells that survived chemotherapy independently produced this sugar and used it as a signaling substance that increased the ability of neighboring tumor cells to spread.
Another observation turned out to be even more unexpected. The researchers found that even without prior chemotherapy, high fructose intake, typical, for example, of sugary carbonated drinks, also enhanced the ability of tumor cells to spread.
According to the authors of the work, the results suggest that nutrition can influence the progression of cancer in ways that were not previously known to researchers. Unlike many risk factors that a person cannot influence, the amount of fructose consumed depends on eating habits. At the same time, the researchers specifically note that so far the effectiveness of fructose restriction in patients has not been tested, therefore it is premature to talk about practical recommendations.
What does cholesterol and statins have to do with it?
After scientists established the role of fructose, they tried to understand how it helps tumor cells to spread. To do this, the researchers used several methods of large-scale analysis, including genetic screening using CRISPR technology. As a result, it turned out that fructose suppresses the production of cholesterol in neighboring tumor cells.
At first glance, the link between cholesterol and the spread of cancer may seem unexpected. However, the authors of the study explain that cholesterol performs an important structural function: it helps cells stay close to each other, acting as a kind of biological "glue". When cholesterol levels decrease, the connection between cells weakens, making it easier for them to separate and spread throughout the body.
This discovery forced scientists to pay attention to another important point. They note that statins, drugs that millions of people take to lower cholesterol levels, also reduce its production. During the study, the team found that statins themselves also weakened the "cohesion" between cells and contributed to their separation. At the same time, the researchers emphasize that the data obtained does not mean that patients should stop taking such drugs. The team is currently only studying whether statins can in any way affect the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
Catherine Aird, professor and co-director of the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at the Ellen and Ronald Kaplan Cancer Center at the Wistar Institute and senior author of the study
We haven't tested this effect on patients yet, but it raises questions about combining cholesterol-lowering drugs with chemotherapy, especially given that ovarian cancer is most common in postmenopausal women who are often already taking statins.
What could the discovery change in cancer treatment?
The authors of the study believe that the discovered mechanism may have implications not only for ovarian cancer. Now they are checking whether a similar scheme works for other types of tumors, which also spread mainly within the abdominal cavity. In particular, we are talking about pancreatic, colon and liver cancers.
Despite the preliminary nature of the findings, the study draws attention to the previously unknown role of fructose in cancer progression. Scientists have already begun to prepare new experiments to test whether the discovered mechanism is reproduced in other types of tumors. According to Aird, it is not yet possible to say that it is universal, but scientists suggest that other cancers that spread within the trunk, including tumors of the pancreas, liver and colon, may behave in a similar way.
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