Janet Gramza
Aug 25, 2022
New trials explore effects of diet on cancer treatments
Could cancer patients benefit from temporarily eating less? A University at Buffalo scientist is launching two pilot studies on how dietary interventions may improve cancer treatments.
One trial will explore whether patients on chemotherapy do better if they eat less before treatments and follow a plant-based diet.
The other will assess whether a low-protein diet may assist the immune system in cancer treatment. This study may be the only one in the country focusing on a specific dietary intervention for patients undergoing immunotherapies for cancer.
“The goal of our studies is to improve the efficacy of therapies and perhaps to reduce the side effects from treatment,” said Dr. Roberto Pili, who holds several titles including chief of hematology/oncology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. “We want to know, can lifestyle interventions help patients in cancer treatment do better?”
Pili has founded UB’s new Sciences, Nutrition and Cancer Center, which is establishing a program for integrative oncology, where dietary interventions, exercise and mind-body medicine are integrated into cancer patient care.
He wants to build on evidence that calorie restriction leading up to chemotherapy may improve patients' response to treatment. In a prior study, women with breast cancer who restricted calories for a few days before pre-surgery chemotherapy treatments had a higher response rate than those who didn’t change their diets.
One woman under the group's care who followed a restricted, plant-based diet achieved “a complete response,” Pili said.
“That means once they removed the breast tissue and tested it, they could not find any evidence of cancer," he said. "With the restriction in calories, the chemotherapy was able to completely destroy the cancer.”
That kind of response from conventional chemotherapy prior to surgery is achieved only in about 20% to 30% of breast cancer patients.
“With calorie restriction and a plant-based diet, we want to see if we can increase that response rate,” Pili said.
The second study will explore whether restricting animal proteins helps reduce tumor growth. Pili's previous research found that animals who reduced animal protein in their diets from 20% to 7% had their tumors slow down or shrink.
"We know that sugar feeds some cancers and that most cancer cells are sensitive to glucose starvation during treatment," Pili said. "I am equally worried about animal proteins ... We want to see if reducing the amount of protein at the beginning of treatment for a short time may help patients respond better to immunotherapy."
The studies are open to patients currently receiving chemotherapy or immune therapies for any cancer. The studies are enrolling 30 patients each. More information is at clinicaltrials.gov. Patients interested in participating may call 716-878-3317.
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