Low-fat diets could stop cancer growth, study suggests
A low-fat diet may help halt the growth of some cancerous tumours, research from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) suggests.
The research centres around lipids and their impact on tumours.
Lipids are naturally occurring molecules most commonly found in fatty foods like butter and ice cream.
Tumours with IDH1 mutations, found in blood and bone cancers, can not grow or survive without lipids.
"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 tumours with IDH1 were stopped in their tracks when starved of lipids," said lead scientist, Dr Daniel Thomas.
Lipids are found in ice cream and other fatty foods Ekka
The IDH1 mutation is an aggressive mutation that reprograms the cell, most commonly found in blood cancer, acute myeloid leukaemia, chondrosarcoma - a type of bone cancer - as well as low-grade glioma, a type of brain cancer
Diet was previously thought to have little-to-no impact on cancerous tumour growth, but Thomas says this study could prove that theory wrong.
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"More work needs to be done to substantiate our findings in humans long term, but for anyone with an IDH1 mutant cancer... our research suggests erring on the side of caution by avoiding foods that are high in saturated fats," he said.
A low fat diet starves the mutated cells, halting their growth Nine
SAHMRI is also on track to become the first in the world to combine IDH1 targeting with proton therapy. If successful, it would minimise the use of excessive chemotherapy for cancer patients.
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