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Changes in diet associated with cancer: An evolutionary perspective
Frédéric Thomas1, Sophie Rome2, Frédéric Mery3
1CREEC/MIVEGEC UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5 France.
Evolutionary Applications
|July 19, 2017
Summary
Dietary changes are linked to cancer progression. This study proposes a new framework, adapting parasitology concepts, to understand how diet shifts in tumor-bearing individuals can inform novel cancer prevention and treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Cancer biology
- Parasitology
Background:
- Dietary changes are frequently associated with cancer occurrence and progression in humans and animals.
- An integrated conceptual framework to interpret these diet-cancer links is currently lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To offer a novel perspective on dietary changes in tumor-bearing individuals by applying concepts from parasitology.
- To explore the potential of understanding diet shifts during tumor progression for developing new cancer therapies.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual framework adaptation from parasitology.
- Analysis of potential reasons for dietary changes during tumor progression (pathological, self-medication, tumor manipulation, host tolerance).
Main Results:
- Dietary changes can occur during tumor progression due to pathological effects, host self-medication, tumor manipulation, or host tolerance strategies.
- Host tolerance strategies can be beneficial even if diet changes aid tumor progression, particularly if cancer-induced death is delayed.
Conclusions:
- A unifying evolutionary framework is needed to understand the complex relationship between diet and tumor progression, especially in early tumorigenesis.
- Investigating dietary changes alongside tumor progression may reveal innovative preventive and therapeutic strategies for cancer.
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