Calorie Restriction Boosts Chemo in Cancer Study

A groundbreaking study shows that cutting calories can make cancer treatment work better and cause fewer side effects.

Researchers from Portugal's RISE Health Research Unit and Brazil's Federal University of Piauí found that a 40% reduction in calorie intake significantly shrunk tumors in animal studies. Even better, the calorie restriction protected healthy cells from the damage chemotherapy usually causes.

The team focused on sarcomas, a rare type of cancer that's notoriously difficult to treat. They discovered that limiting food intake created metabolic stress in the tumor environment, essentially starving cancer cells of the energy they need to grow and spread.

Lead researcher Moisés Tolentino Bento da Silva explains it simply: the more energy consumed, the more cancer develops. By reducing calories for short periods during treatment, his team cut off the tumor's fuel supply and made chemotherapy drugs like doxorubicin work harder against the disease.

The benefits went beyond just shrinking tumors. Calorie restriction helped repair DNA damage in healthy tissues that chemotherapy typically harms. It also lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels that cancer cells depend on for energy and growth.

The Ripple Effect

This research could change how doctors approach cancer treatment across multiple diseases. The metabolic reprogramming triggered by calorie restriction doesn't just fight cancer. It may also help patients with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders.

The study, released on World Cancer Day, adds weight to growing evidence that lifestyle factors matter during treatment. The researchers emphasize that regular exercise combined with a balanced diet reduces chemotherapy side effects, especially gastrointestinal problems that make treatment unbearable for many patients.

Silva stresses that proper nutrition and physical activity improve quality of life before, during, and after cancer treatment. The combination gives patients more control over their outcomes and helps them feel better through the grueling process.

While these results come from animal studies, they open the door for human clinical trials that could transform cancer care. The approach costs nothing, uses no additional drugs, and empowers patients to actively participate in their healing.

Future research will determine the ideal timing and duration of calorie restriction for different cancer types, but the initial findings offer genuine hope for better outcomes.