A team of Chinese cancer researchers has unveiled a groundbreaking mechanism by which obesity-related gut microbes can accelerate cancer progression. The study reveals that a high-fat diet fosters specific intestinal microbiota that release chemicals, notably the amino acid leucine, significantly impacting the growth and spread of cancer cells.
Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University established multiple models in cancer-bearing mice to investigate the effects of a high-fat diet (HFD). They discovered that fat-enriched microbiota released abundant leucine into the system. Elevated levels of leucine in peripheral blood were associated with poor clinical outcomes in female patients with breast cancer.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the study highlights how abnormal gut microbiota contribute to resistance against chemotherapy and certain immunotherapies in breast cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma patients.
“Our findings open a broad avenue for anticancer therapeutic strategies by targeting the aberrant metabolism of gut microbiota,” the researchers stated, emphasizing the potential for new treatments that focus on the microbiome’s role in cancer progression.
This discovery underscores the significant impact of diet on gut health and its subsequent influence on cancer development. By understanding the link between high-fat diets, gut microbiota, and cancer, medical professionals can develop more effective treatments and preventive measures.
Reference(s):
Fat-nurtured microbes in gut promote cancer progression: study
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