Cancer Initiation
A Study Summary
A collaborative research project between the University of Edinburgh Centers for Inflammation Research, the British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, and the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre has further demonstrated that cancer has its roots in metabolic changes driven by diet.
Otto Warburg discovered cancer cells metabolized glucose differently, and since his discovery, scientists have been gathering detailed evidence for how and why elevated blood glucose actively drives cancer development and progression.
This latest piece of ground-breaking research demonstrated the clear link between cellular energy use and cancer development. Changes to cellular metabolism are so closely associated with cancer development they can be used as an early warning sign.
Elevated Glucose Levels Prevent the Body from Fighting Cancer Cells
This study used the skin of zebrafish to test the impact of manipulating energy metabolism. They tested the impact of both enhancing and inhibiting glucose metabolism on the creation of pre-neoplastic cells (pre-cancerous cells). What they found was astonishing.
The human body has multiple mechanisms to detect, repair or remove dangerous pre-cancerous cells. However, elevated glucose levels are actively reducing the body’s ability to protect itself. Apoptosis, for example, is like ‘cellular suicide’ eliminating defunct or poorly performing cells. A reduction in apoptosis, driven by excess glucose, means cancerous cells are not removed so effectively from the body.
The results indicate we need to drastically re-evaluate the current models for cancer initiation, growth, and development. They showed that increasing available glucose both enhances the proliferation of pre-cancerous cells and prevents the body removing them (by inhibiting apoptosis). Additional metabolic changes showed alterations to mitochondria (the cellular power houses) and activation of genes which drive cancer development.
It is becoming more obvious that glucose is not only feeding cancer cells but triggering their initiation and driving their development. Altered energy metabolism, due to an excess of glucose in the diet, was recognized as an ‘oncogene activation event’.
Our indulgence in ‘sweet treats’ is being recognized as one of our most dangerous dietary habits. Fortunately, there are some sweet alternatives that don’t feed this pro-cancer metabolic shift.
Learn more about how Dr Coy’s sugars function differently in the body.
Citations
- Preneoplastic cells switch to Warburg metabolism from their inception exposing multiple vulnerabilities for targeted elimination.
Henna Myllymäki, Lisa Kelly, Abigail M. Elliot, Roderick N. Carter, Nicholas M. Morton, Yi Feng bioRxiv 2023.01.09.523333