2023年1月20日

IDH1基因突變是一種令人討厭的突變，它會重新編程細胞，通常在血癌、急性髓係白血病、稱為軟骨肉瘤的骨癌、膽管癌和低級別膠質瘤(一種腦癌)中發現。南澳大利亞健康與醫學研究所(SAHMRI)和阿德萊德大學與斯坦福大學合作的研究人員現在已經證明，具有IDH1基因突變的癌症在沒有脂類的情況下無法生長——脂類是一組天然存在的分子(脂肪)，包含在黃油和冰淇淋等各種食物中。研究負責人丹尼爾·托馬斯博士說:“與其他以糖為食的腫瘤不同，具有IDH1突變的癌症對脂質上癮——它們需要吃脂質，並且需要從頭開始製造脂質。”“我們在一係列癌症類型中重複了這一結果，將常規飲食和完全無脂肪飲食進行了比較，並驚訝地發現，患有IDH1的腫瘤在缺乏脂質時就會停止生長。”這項研究發表在《癌症發現》雜誌上，為長期患者研究打開了大門，研究人員將能夠明確證明低脂飲食或降脂藥物是否能阻止這些腫瘤的生長。托馬斯說:“需要做更多的工作來證實我們在人類身上的長期發現，但對於任何患有IDH1突變癌症的人來說……我們的研究表明，避免食用飽和脂肪含量高的食物，過於謹慎。”“我們很快就了解到，每一點都很重要，可以在不過度化療的情況下實現緩解和提高生存率。”與此同時，伊迪絲考恩大學(ECU)的另一項研究揭示了運動如何對癌症患者有益——即使是在癌症晚期。ECU運動醫學研究所(EMRI)先前的研究表明，患有晚期前列腺癌的男性可以通過6個月的運動訓練來改變身體的化學環境，以抑製癌細胞的生長。研究小組觀察到一種名為“肌肉因子”的蛋白質水平增加，這種蛋白質由骨骼肌產生，可以抑製腫瘤生長，甚至通過刺激體內的一係列抗癌過程來幫助積極對抗癌細胞。 But a new EMRI study, published in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, has shown a single bout of exercise can elevate myokines even further and induce additional cancer suppression. This exercise-induced medicine occurs even in patients with incurable, advanced cancer where the disease has well and truly taken hold. Nine patients with late-stage prostate cancer performed 34 minutes of high-intensity exercise on a stationary cycle, with blood serum collected immediately before and after, and then again 30 minutes post-workout. The team found the serum obtained immediately after this ‘dose’ of exercise contained elevated levels of anticancer myokines resulting in suppressed growth of prostate cancer cells in vitro by around 17%. Serum myokine levels and cancer suppression returned to baseline after 30 minutes. “We report for the first time ever that men with advanced prostate cancer are able to produce an acute elevation in anticancer molecules called myokines in response to a single bout of vigorous exercise,” said EMRI researcher and study supervisor Professor Rob Newton. “This is helping us to understand why patients with cancer who exercise exhibit slower disease progression and survive for longer. “These patients are palliative, so there is no cure and they will eventually succumb; however, there is evidence that exercise will extend survival.” Newton said while there is much research still to be done, the results of this study could help shape the advice given to cancer patients immediately. “The optimal dose of exercise is not yet known, but it is likely to be 20-plus minutes each day and must include resistance training to grow the muscles, increase the size and capacity of the internal pharmacy, and stimulate the myokine production,” he said. “This study provides strong evidence for the recommendation patients with prostate cancer, and likely anybody with any cancer type, should perform exercise most days, if not every day, to maintain a chemical environment within their body which is suppressive of cancer cell proliferation.” Image credit: iStock.com/g-stockstudio