Research has shown modifying eating habits and consuming certain food components may help breast cancer tumours shrink while reducing side effects associated with chemotherapy.
University of Adelaide PhD candidate Ifeoma Dikeocha and members of the Cancer Treatment and Toxicities group, led by Professor Joanne Bowen, conducted a comprehensive review of 42 international studies.
“When a person with breast cancer changes their eating habits especially with the guidance of a dietitian or nutritionist as part of their cancer care team, they may be able to experience fewer side effects and have more efficient results from their chemotherapy treatment,” says Ifeoma.
Breast cancer affects millions of individuals worldwide, with one in eight women and one in 68 men diagnosed in their lifetime. For many people, chemotherapy is the cornerstone of their treatment but it can come with severe side effects and reduced quality of life.
"Understanding the link between diet, nutritional supplements and breast cancer tumour response could open new avenues for precision medicine, enabling healthcare providers to provide dietary advice or specific interventions based on patients' specific needs," says Ifeoma.
"It could also lead to improved patient wellbeing, reduced chemotherapy-related side effects and potentially extend survival."
Certain dietary patterns are associated with influencing the way a person’s tumour grows and may even reduce the rate at which the tumour spreads.
“In our study, we critically synthesised the data from 32 pre-clinical and eight clinical studies to understand how different whole diets (fasting mimicking diet, ketogenic diet or Mediterranean diet), dietary components (probiotics, whey protein) and nutritional supplements (fish oils, herbal extracts or minerals) could influence the tumour response to chemotherapy and what mechanism of action could be responsible on a cellular level,” says Ifeoma.
The results were published in the journal Clinical Nutrition ESPEN.
"We found whole diets, fasting mimicking diets and ketogenic diets had beneficial effects on tumour response to chemotherapy, but fasting was seen to be more effective against triple negative breast cancer compared to a keto diet, while both effectively controlled tumour metastasis in animal studies," says Ifeoma.
"’It is important to note that no exact dietary modification is suitable for everyone because this is still an evolving field with several varying opinions and findings.
"Further studies are needed to explore how unique patient features, tumour characteristics, and dietary preferences can be beneficial in improving the outcome of diet modification during cancer treatment.
“Our work helps us to understand the special relationship between a person’s eating habits and how tumours react which could open new avenues for more efficient breast cancer management and treatment without complications.”