How to eat to help killer cells fight cancer more strongly

Accordingly, intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating helps the immune system's killer cells fight cancer better, according to the medical website Medical Express.

Intermittent fasting helps 'train' the immune system's killer cells to better fight cancer

The study, led by Dr. Rebecca Delconte from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (USA - MSK), was conducted on mice. In it, the mice with cancer followed an intermittent fasting regimen: fasting for 1 day and night, 2 times a week, and eating freely for the remaining 5 days.

This diet prevented the mice from losing weight overall. But the fasting periods had a major effect on NK cells.

Results showed that when mice with cancer underwent intermittent fasting, killer cells were metabolically trained to tolerate the nutrient-poor environment in and around the tumor, while also enhancing their ability to fight cancer.

During the fasting cycles, the mice's NK cells learned to use fatty acids as a fuel source instead of sugar. This actually optimized their cancer-fighting abilities because the tumor environment contained high concentrations of fat, and they were now better able to infiltrate the tumor and survive during this fasting, said lead author Rebecca Delconte.

“Tumors are very hungry,” said co-author Dr. Joseph Sun. “They absorb essential nutrients, creating a nutrient-poor, fat-rich environment that is very unfavorable for immune cells.”

The more killer cells there are in the tumor, the better the patient's prognosis.

The important thing here is that fasting trains these killer cells to survive better in the above adverse environment.

Additionally, the authors observed that more NK cells migrated to the bone marrow, where they were able to produce more important tumor-fighting cytokines. Meanwhile, NK cells in the spleen were trained to use fat as fuel better. Combining these two mechanisms, Dr. Delconte said, the NK cells became more powerful in producing more cytokines in the tumor. And with improved metabolism, they were more likely to survive in the tumor environment and enhance their anti-cancer ability, according to Medical Express.

In general, the more NK cells there are in the tumor, the better the patient's prognosis.

These findings may help explain why intermittent fasting may help the body fight cancer, lose fat and improve metabolism.

And although more research is needed, the results also suggest that fasting may be a strategy to make cancer immunotherapy more effective, the study authors note.

However, caution should be exercised as different types of intermittent fasting may have different effects and patients should consult their doctor before making any dietary changes.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cach-an-giup-te-bao-sat-thu-chong-ung-thu-manh-me-hon-18524062116412494.htm