High-fat diet speeds up breast cancer growth: Study

A high-fat diet may accelerate the growth and spread of an aggressive form of breast cancer, finds a study by researchers at Princeton University.

This new study provides insights and evidence linking a high-fat diet to breast cancer tumour growth and is particularly focused on triple-negative breast cancer, a subtype that is difficult to treat with standard methods.

In India, triple-negative breast cancer is highly prevalent and accounts for about 30% of the annual 2 lakh breast cancer cases.

Earlier research has examined the relationship between diet and cancer, it has not taken into consideration the ways in which interrelated systems, including the immune system and metabolism, can influence the behaviour of cancer cells.

“Across the five dietary conditions, the strongest direct effect was seen in the high-fat condition,” said study author Maryam Kohram.

A 3D model that closely resembles the metabolic environment of the body was used in this study. We asked the authors of the study about the findings and how this model is more reliable.

In order to replicate a realistic environment that surrounds tumours, scientists at Princeton University created a three-dimensional tumour model using a liquid similar to human plasma, ensuring that it behaved more like a real tumour.

This helped them mimic the metabolic effects (chemical processes that manage energy production) of dietary nutrients and further isolated particular nutrients and their effects. They examined the structure, growth, and spread of cancer cells and how different dietary conditions impacted growth.

The researchers tested four specific metabolic conditions that may occur in a human body. They are high insulin, high glucose, high ketones, and high fat that could mimic the circulating nutrients just like in humans.

“In the 3D-engineered tumours, the high-fat condition resulted in faster invasion, larger tumours, and hollow regions. By contrast, the high-insulin, high-glucose, and high-ketone conditions showed much weaker direct effects in our simplified model.”

She explained how these results show that specific nutrient conditions can directly reprogram cancer cells, and lipid-rich foods can push them toward a more aggressive and invasive state.

“We were hoping to identify dietary conditions that would slow tumour growth. Instead, we found one dietary condition – a high-fat diet – that sped up tumour growth, according to Prof. Nelson.

THIS IS NOT DIETARY ADVICE

Context is important when it comes to understanding all about cancer research and, more specifically, nutrition.



Why? Because a lot of factors may impact cancer growth, including the environment inside a human body.

“This suggests that long-term dietary patterns may influence tumour progression, but it does not mean that consuming fat alone will directly cause cancer to grow," said Kohram.

She explained that the results should not be used to make direct dietary recommendations for patients yet. “Instead, the main value of this work is that it helps point to which dietary states and circulating nutrients deserve closer study in animal models and clinical settings before any treatment-related dietary guidance is made," she added.

While previous studies have looked into how long-term food patterns, especially diets rich in fat, do increase risk factors for cancer. But this particular study “pushes us into the era of precision nutrition," said Dr Meenu Walia, Chairman, Medical Oncology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi.

The study highlights that the efficacy of a drug isn't just about the drug’s chemistry; it’s about the metabolic environment it lands in, noted Dr Walia. “And the paper lays the groundwork that can support us moving into human clinical trials to prove which diets work with which treatments.”

RELIABILITY OF 3D MODELS

There are existing studies that have already established a link between high-fat diets and cancer. In fact, the findings of this study complement previous research. However, previous studies have struggled to recreate the complex conditions of the human body, including the flow of nutrients around cells.

This study created a realistic model. “We took the approach of building identical engineered tumours and culturing them in conditions that mimic the blood composition of patients under different dietary states,” mentioned study author Professor Celeste M. Nelson in a written statement.

The three-dimensional models in cancer research are gaining attention as these models provide crucial insights into tumour behaviour.

“These models strike a middle ground: they are more complex and biologically relevant than a 2D dish, yet more controlled and testable than an animal model," said Kohram.

We asked Dr Arun Kumar Goel, Chairman of Surgical Oncology, Andromeda Cancer Hospitals, Sonipat, about why 3D models are comparatively reliable.

He explained that "a three-dimensional model is more likely to replicate what goes on inside human bodies. These models have the ability to go into finer details of nutritional components."

He noted that 3D models are better than population studies, as they are more reliable and less time-consuming.