14 DAY TRIAL // A new study whose findings were published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment this past May 26 indicates that it might be possible to keep a fairly aggressive form of breast cancer in check by dieting.
Specifically, researchers say that, following a series of experiments carried out on mice, they reached the conclusion that calorie restriction can keep triple negative breast cancer from spreading and metastasizing.
In their paper, the specialists behind this investigation detail that calorie restriction boils down to lowering an individual's daily food intake by a certain percentage without causing starvation.
This type of dieting has previously been shown to prolong life expectancy. Still, it appears that calorie restriction also has its perks when it comes to improving the survival chances of women diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.
The mice that scientists experimented on during this investigation were made to eat about 30% less food than they would have, had they been allowed free access to their favorite treats and snacks, EurekAlert informs.
This restricted diet caused the cancer cells inside the rodent's bodies to decrease their production of two specific microRNAs, i.e. a type of RNA that regulates other genes in the cell, which are produced in excess when triple negative cancer metastasizes.
Besides, the calorie restriction triggered a strengthening in the tissue found around the cancer tumors inside the mice's bodies, thus further keeping the cancer from spreading, the report in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment details.
“The diet turned on a epigenetic program that protected mice from metastatic disease. Calorie restriction promotes epigenetic changes in the breast tissue that keep the extracellular matrix strong,” explains Dr. Nicole Simone.
“A strong matrix creates a sort of cage around the tumor, making it more difficult for cancer cells to escape and spread to new sites in the body,” the Thomas Jefferson University in the United States researcher goes on to add.
Interestingly enough, evidence obtained while carrying out this series of experiments on laboratory mice indicates that calorie restriction works best at reducing metastasis risk in cases of triple negative breast cancer when coupled with radiation therapy.
Dr. Nicole Simone and fellow researchers are confident that their findings can benefit human patients and are now looking into the possibility to roll out a clinical trial involving women diagnosed with said form of cancer. The trial is dubbed CaReFOR (Calorie Restriction for Oncology Research), and the specialists are now busy enrolling patients for it.