Several studies have suggested that mesothelioma patients may experience better outcomes through approaches that combine targeted drugs with precision nutrition. There is a field of emerging oncology research that views the food patients eat as a way to exploit the rare form of cancer’s metabolic vulnerabilities.
Researchers Find that Mesothelioma Cells Adapt Metabolically to Evade Therapy
Mesothelioma researchers have found that the rare form of cancer’s cells don’t just divide faster than normal cells—they eat differently, hoarding glucose, rerouting amino acids, siphoning lipids, and creating alternatives for nutrition when drugs block their primary fuel sources. This remarkable discovery suggests that changing what tumors can eat could be a new strategy for extending patient remissions and expanding on positive responses when paired with existing treatments.
Like other cancers, the cells that make up mesothelioma tumors can change their shape to adapt to and resist different therapeutic approaches. This rewiring of fuel lines was first discovered in the 1920s, when Otto Warburg observed that cancer cells consume glucose voraciously and convert it to lactate, even when oxygen is plentiful. But the attention initially paid to this metabolic process was replaced with the introduction of genetic analysis of tumor types.
Now, scientists are revisiting the role of metabolism in mesothelioma and other cancers. Tumors share and compete for nutrients with their microenvironment, burning different fuels in different organs, and shifting metabolic strategies, suggesting that metabolic dependencies vary by tumor type.
Mesothelioma Therapy Enhancement Through Dietary Intervention
Mesothelioma researchers are suggesting that treatment precision could improve with the help of tumor-informed nutrition delivered with the same precision as medication. Rather than one-size-fits-all cancer diets telling patients to cut sugar, avoid white bread, or drink green juices regardless of tumor type or physiology, patients receiving certain drugs could shift their diets to reduce post-meal glucose and insulin peaks. The proposed approach treats nutrition as a targeted adjuvant therapy that can minimize the metabolic escape hatches that tumors create. The goal is to make drug mechanisms work better, rather than to replace them.
Mesothelioma Research Requires Prospective Controlled Trials
This area of mesothelioma research has provided promising signs that when drugs specific to a patient’s biomarkers are combined with insulin-lowering or amino acid-modifying diets, real benefits can be realized. Similarly, some failures of drug treatments may be linked to diet choices that are not specifically matched to drug mechanisms or goals. Doctors believe that the next generation of combination therapy should combine drugs with metabolic approaches, pairing specific foods with medications designed to prevent tumors from evading treatment.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. For more information on state-of-the-art research and other resources, contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
