Nature sub-magazine breakthrough! Fasting with vitamin C is effective for hard-to-treat cancers

, June 6, 2020 /
BioValley /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists from the University of Southern California (USC) and the IFOM Cancer Institute in Milan have found that a diet that mimics fasting may be more effective in treating certain types of cancer when combined with vitamin Cin a study of mice, the researchers found that the combination slowed the progression oftumor
s in a variety of mouse colorectal cancer models; The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications"For the first time, we showed how to effectively treat cancer with completely non-toxic interventions," said Valter Longo, author of the study and professor of geriatrics and biosciences at the USC Longevity Institute"We've taken two treatments that have been widely studied for aging interventions -- a diet that mimics fasting and vitamin C -- and combined them as an effective cancer treatmentpicture source:Nature Communicationsresearchers say that while fasting remains a challenging option for cancer patients, a safer and more viable option is a low-calorie, plant-based diet that allows cells to react just as if the body were fastingTheir findings suggest that a low-toxic treatment, a diet that mimics fasting and supplements with vitamin C, may replace more toxic treatmentsprevious studies on the anti-cancer effects of vitamin C are inconsistentHowever, recent studies have begun to show some efficacy, especially in combination with chemotherapyIn the new study, the team wanted to find out whether a diet that mimics fasting can enhance the anti-cancer effects of high doses of vitamin C by creating an environment that is harmful to cancer cells but still safe for normal cells"Our first in vitro experiment showed remarkable results," Longo said"When used alone, mimicking fasting diets or vitamin C can reduce the growth of cancer cells and lead to a slight increase in cancer cell death But when used together, they had a dramatic effect, killing almost all cancer cells "
Longo and his colleagues found this strong effect only in the KRAS mutant cancer cells, considered one of the most challenging targets in cancer research These mutations in the KRAS gene indicate that the body is resisting most cancer treatments, which reduces the patient's survival rate The KRAS mutation occurs in about a quarter of human cancers and is estimated to occur in up to half of all colorectal cancers study also provides clues as to why previous studies of vitamin C as a potential cancer therapy have had limited effect For its part, vitamin C therapy appears to protect cancer cells by increasing levels of ferritin, a protein that binds to iron, triggering the KRAS mutation But by lowering levels of ferritin, scientists have managed to increase the toxicity of vitamin C to cancer cells In the study, the scientists also found that people with high levels of ferrite binding protein had lower survival rates for colorectal cancer patients "In this study, we observed how fast-replicated dietary cycles can improve the efficacy of pharmacological doses of vitamin C on KRAS mutationcancer cancers," said Study co-author Maira Di Tano of the IFOM Molecular Oncology Research Center in Milan, Italy "This is achieved by regulating the level of iron and by participating in the molecular mechanismof oxidative stress The results were specifically targeted at a gene that controls iron levels: hemoglobin-oxygenase-1 previous research by the team, fasting and mimicking fasting can slow the progression of cancer, make chemotherapy more effective for tumor cells, and protect normal cells from chemotherapy-related side effects In mouse models of breast cancer and melanoma, this combination enhances the immune system's anti-
tumor response scientists believe that cancer treatment will eventually be treated with a low-toxic drug similar to antibiotics used to treat infections that kill specific bacteria , but if the first drug does not work, it can be replaced with other drugs to achieve this goal, they say they need to first test two assumptions: that their non-toxic combination interventions will work in mice, and that they look promising in human clinical trials In the new study, they say they have proven both At least five clinical trials , including a trial at the University of Southern California for breast and prostate cancer patients, and are now studying the effects of a diet that mimics fasting in combination with different anti-cancer drugs (BioValleyBioon.com) References: A combo of fasting plus vitamin C is s if for hard-to-treat cancers, study shows
Maira Di Tano et al, Synergsof-photos-and-wild-diet and vitamin C against KRASmutated cancers , nature communications (2020) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16243-3