Philadelphia: A new study has found a possible link between fructose, a common dietary sugar, and the spread of an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Researchers at The Wistar Institute discovered that cancer cells surviving chemotherapy could release fructose, potentially acting as a chemical signal that encourages nearby cancer cells to spread.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the findings, published in Nature Aging, suggest a previously unknown mechanism by which residual cancer cells after treatment may contribute to disease dissemination. ‘Some cancer cells that survive chemotherapy aren’t dividing anymore, but they’re still biologically active,’ said Aidan Cole, a postdoctoral fellow at The Wistar Institute and the study’s first author. He explained that these cells continue to emit molecules that signal nearby cells, with the study being one of the first to reveal that a nutrient like fructose can serve as such a signal.
Most ovarian cancer patients receive platinum-based chemotherapy, initially effective, yet the disease often recurs and spreads through the abdominal cavity. This spread, known as metastasis, accounts for about 90% of ovarian cancer deaths, as noted by the researchers. Earlier research suggested that chemotherapy-surviving cancer cells might contribute to recurrence by releasing various chemical signals. To investigate this process, Cole and his colleagues isolated the surviving cancer cells from the substances they produced and exposed other cancer cells to these substances. The researchers found that the released substances alone significantly increased the other cancer cells’ ability to spread.
The team identified fructose as the specific substance responsible for this effect. Their analysis revealed that chemotherapy-surviving cancer cells produced fructose, which acted as a signal encouraging nearby cancer cells to spread. They also discovered that high levels of dietary fructose, akin to amounts found in some sugary drinks, could promote cancer spread in their experimental models, even without chemotherapy. This finding raises questions about whether diet could influence cancer progression, particularly in the United States, where high-fructose corn syrup constitutes a significant portion of daily calorie intake for some individuals. Nonetheless, the researchers emphasized that they have not yet tested whether reducing fructose intake improves cancer patient outcomes.
The study further explored how fructose might make cancer cells more prone to movement. Using several analytical techniques, including a CRISPR-based screening method, they discovered that fructose reduced cholesterol production in nearby cancer cells. Cholesterol helps maintain cellular connections, acting partly like biological glue. When cholesterol levels decrease, these connections can weaken, potentially allowing cancer cells to separate and move more easily. This could help explain how a common nutrient may influence cancer cells’ physical behavior.
The findings also raised questions regarding statins, drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol. In their experiments, the researchers found that statins alone weakened connections between cancer cells, making it easier for them to separate. However, they stressed that the findings do not suggest patients should discontinue statins or any other prescribed medications. ‘We haven’t tested this effect in patients yet, but it raises questions about combining cholesterol-lowering drugs with chemotherapy,’ said Katherine Aird, a professor and senior author of the study at The Wistar Institute. She noted that this issue might be particularly relevant because ovarian cancer is more common among postmenopausal women, many of whom may already take statins.
The researchers are now investigating whether the same fructose-related mechanism could also play a role in other cancers. ‘We think other cancers that spread within the torso – pancreatic, colon, liver – could behave similarly,’ Aird said. ‘We can’t call it universal yet, but we think the effects are not just limited to ovarian cancer,’ she added. Aird and Cole have begun planning further studies to determine whether similar findings occur in other types of cancer. They emphasized that the current findings are preclinical and do not yet establish that eating fructose causes cancer to spread in people.