Asparagus, nuts and seafood linked to spread of breast cancer
Asparagine , an amino acid, is also found in soy, potatoes and whole grains
Asparagus, potato, seafood, nuts and red meat contain compounds that fuel the spread of breast cancer, a new study has warned. Asparagine, an amino acid also found in dairy and poultry, somehow helps cancerous cells to move from the breast into the bloodstream and colonise other areas of the body, Cambridge researchers found.
A team showed that a diet low in asparagine reduced tumours' spread in affected mice. It means breast cancer patients may be advised to try an extreme diet of certain fruit and vegetables - or asparagine-lowering drugs - on top of traditional treatments in an effort to prevent the disease from metastasizing.
Lead author Professor Greg Hannon from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, said: 'Our work has pinpointed one of the key mechanisms that promotes the ability of breast cancer cells to spread. When the availability of asparagine was reduced, tumour cells had reduced capacity for metastases in other parts of the body. This finding adds vital information to our understanding of how we can stop cancer spreading - the main reason patients die from their disease.'
Although Charles Swanton, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, agrees the findings are 'interesting', he adds further research is required to determine whether the results apply in real-life settings out of the lab. The findings were published in the journal Nature.