NeuroblastomaFLICKR, ED UTHMAN
Fasting can protect cells from stress and damage, such as oxidation or radiation, and has been found to protect healthy cells from chemotherapy. But can the practice also help fight cancer?
There is now evidence to support this idea, from research on cancer models of yeast and tumor-ridden mice, published today (February 8) in Science Translational Medicine. Starved organisms survived longer when treated with chemotherapy than those on a normal diet, and healthy cells were less likely to sustain damage.
“This ability to think about adding fasting in combination with chemotherapy is obviously exciting, and it definitely adds something to the arsenal of what we can do,” said Trudy Oliver, who researches cancer resistance at the University of Utah but was not involved in the ...
