IMPORTANT
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- Breast cancer treatment often leads to weight gain, which is unfavorable for the patient’s prognosis.
- To combat this weight gain, researchers analyzed the effects of a healthy plant-based diet on 20 women with breast cancer.
- After 8 weeks, they saw a drop in body weight, but also a decrease in average cholesterol levels, inflammation in the body, and a decrease in blood samples of IGF-1, a growth factor associated with many common cancers.
In the context of stage 4 breast cancer, i.e. metastatic cancer, long-term treatment is necessary to prolong the patient’s life. Among the side effects we find weight gain which can be significant, which is problematic because obesity and its cardiometabolic and hormonal risk factors are themselves associated with a worse prognosis.
“These patients are usually excluded from diet studies, but with increasing numbers of survivors, this presents an opportunity to learn the effect (of a plant-based diet) in both the short and long term.”
He said research director Professor Thomas M. Campbell, assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in the United States and an expert on the use of plant-based nutrition to improve health.
Based on this observation and in collaboration with other researchers, Professor Campbell therefore led a new clinical trial to study the effects of a healthy vegan diet on these women. The results of this study, which is considered the first of its kind, have been published in the journal Research and treatment of breast cancer last March.
Weight loss of 0.5 to 1 kg per week with a vegan diet
To conduct this study, scientists recruited 32 volunteers with stage 4 breast cancer, of which 30 completed the trial: 20 women followed a healthy plant-based diet, and 10 were placed in a control group that followed a conventional diet.
A plant-based diet included only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and excluded all animal products (meat, eggs, dairy) and added oils or solid fats with no calorie restrictions. These participants also took daily multivitamins. At the start of the trial, the 30 participants had an average BMI of 29.7; or the obesity threshold.
The results? After eight weeks, compared to a no-significant control group, the average weight of participants following a vegan diet decreased by 6.6%, reducing their average BMI from 29.7 to 27.8, corresponding to a weight loss of 0. 5%. up to 1 kg per week.
Their average cholesterol level also decreased by 17.7%, and their average LDL cholesterol level decreased by 21.4% to 82.2 mg/dL.
Blood pressure, which was optimal in both groups, tended to decrease slightly in this intervention group. Insulin resistance also decreased in these women.
Can a plant-based diet stop the progression of cancer?
Another encouraging result: The researchers found a reduction in overall inflammation in the body and a reduction in blood samples of IGF-1, a growth factor linked to many common cancers. “Although we cannot yet say from this small study whether diet can stop cancer progression, we have seen preliminary results that suggest favorable changes in the body, which is very positive.“, said Professor Campbell.
To better understand the potentially beneficial effects of such a diet on slowing tumor growth, the team is now collaborating with another expert, Professor Isaac Harris. The latter studies the effects of the levels of amino acids present in the blood and the survival of cancer cells (which are highly dependent on these molecules), as well as their effects on the effectiveness of anticancer drugs. To be continued…
The Why Doctor team reminds that cancer patients must first discuss any major dietary changes with their oncologist or referring physician.