London - A low calorie diet may help prevent the spread of one of the deadliest forms of breast cancer.
Scientists believe that radiotherapy used to treat tumours would be more effective if women were eating a third less than usual.
In the US study a low calorie diet appeared to prevent the spread of triple negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive form of the disease.
It affects around a fifth of all women with breast cancer – about 10 000 new cases a year – and is more common in the under-40s. It spreads very quickly, with tumours often returning after treatment.
Dr Nicole Simone, of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, whose study was published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, believes that cutting calorie intake by about a third triggers genetic changes that prevent the tumour from spreading.
In a study of mice, dieting changed their genetics, which appeared to prevent the tumours from “metastasising”. If women followed an equivalent diet they would be allowed about 1 250 calories a day – the recommended intake is 2 000.
Dr Simone said it was important to look at metabolism when treating women with cancer.
“Recent studies have shown that too much weight makes standard treatments for breast cancer less effective, and those who gain weight during treatment have worse cancer outcomes,” she said.
Women with breast cancer gain an average of 10lb during their first year of treatment due to the side effects of hormonal drugs and steroids. - Daily Mail