Study Sugar makes cancer cells more aggressive and stimulates tumor growth

Physicians are studying the effects of sugar on cancer development

Researchers have now discovered that sugar has a strong effect on cancer cells and tumors. The sugar causes, for example, that the tumors become more aggressive and that tumor growth is stimulated.

A team of scientists from the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (VU) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) found in his study that the so-called Warburg effect (a phenomenon in which the cancer cells rapidly degrade sugar ) leads to stimulated tumor growth. The experts published the results of their study in the journal Nature Communications.

The effects of sugar on the aggressiveness of cancer cells and tumor growth have been studied by scientists in a recent study. (Image: Kateryna_Kon / fotolia.com)

Nine years of research lead to an interesting insight

Over a nine-year period of research, the team of physicians observed that sugar stimulates the growth of cancerous tumors. According to the experts, this finding is a decisive breakthrough in cancer research. The scientists investigated the so-called Warburg effect and its effects on the growth of tumors.

Warburg Effect: A cause of cancer or just a symptom?

The new results provide evidence of a positive correlation between sugar and cancer, say the experts. This finding could have far-reaching effects on the nutritional plans of cancer patients in the future. The focus of the research projects was on the Warburg effect and the observation that tumors convert significantly higher amounts of sugar into lactate compared to healthy tissue. This phenomenon has been extensively studied as one of the most outstanding features of cancer cells. The effect can therefore even be used, for example, to detect brain tumors. However, it remains unclear whether the observed effect is merely a symptom of cancer or possibly a cause, the authors explain.

Sugar consumption of cancer cells triggers a vicious circle

Previous research on cancer cell metabolism aimed to assign metabolic peculiarities. The current study illustrates the relationship between a metabolic abnormality and the so-called oncogenic potency in cancer cells. The results of the research show how the hyperactive sugar consumption of cancer cells leads to a true vicious circle of continued stimulation of cancer development and growth, explains author Dr. med. Johan Thevelein. Thus, the correlation between the strength of the Warburg effect and the aggressiveness of the tumor can be explained.

It becomes clear that the link between sugar and cancer has far-reaching consequences. Thevelein continues. The results provide a basis for future research in this area, which can now be done with a much more precise focus, the expert adds.

What special significance did yeast have in the investigation??

Yeast cells were essential for the discovery of physicians, as these cells contain the same Ras proteins that are commonly found in tumor cells. With the help of yeast as a model organism, the researchers investigated the connection between Ras activity and the highly active sugar metabolism in yeast. "The main advantage of using yeast was that our research was not affected by the extra regulatory mechanisms of mammalian cells that may overlay important underlying processes," author Thevelein continues. (As)