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Dietary modifications for enhanced cancer therapy

Nature volume 579, pages 507–517 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Tumours depend on nutrients supplied by the host for their growth and survival. Modifications to the host’s diet can change nutrient availability in the tumour microenvironment, which might represent a promising strategy for inhibiting tumour growth. Dietary modifications can limit tumour-specific nutritional requirements, alter certain nutrients that target the metabolic vulnerabilities of the tumour, or enhance the cytotoxicity of anti-cancer drugs. Recent reports have suggested that modification of several nutrients in the diet can alter the efficacy of cancer therapies, and some of the newest developments in this quickly expanding field are reviewed here. The results discussed indicate that the dietary habits and nutritional state of a patient must be taken into account during cancer research and therapy.

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Fig. 1: Mechanisms of tumour inhibition by dietary modifications.
Fig. 2: Glucose metabolism in cancer cells.
Fig. 3: Serine metabolism in cancer cells.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all members of the Sabatini lab, and members of the Pathology Department at Boston Children’s Hospital for providing the research environment that inspired the writing of this review; K. Hixon, L. A. Shinefeld, L. D. Schweitzer, L. Pernas, L. Chantranupong and B. D. Hopkins for helpful comments on the manuscript; L. Nip for the graphic design; and D. A. Guertin for his mentorship. This work was supported by grants from the NIH to D.M.S. (R01 CA103866, R01 CA129105 and R37 AI047389), and from the Lustgarten Foundation. Fellowship support was provided by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) (Long-Term Fellowship ALTF 350-2012) and the American Association for Cancer Research (16-40-38-KANA) to N.K., with additional support from by the Women in Science/Revson Foundation Award (Weizmann Institute) and The Advancement of Women in Science Award (The Hebrew University). N.K. and B.P. are supported by Boston Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital Pathology Foundation. D.M.S. is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and an American Cancer Society Research Professor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Naama Kanarek & Boryana Petrova

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Naama Kanarek

  3. Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Naama Kanarek & David M. Sabatini

  4. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

    David M. Sabatini

  5. Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    David M. Sabatini

  6. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

    David M. Sabatini

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  1. Naama Kanarek
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N.K. wrote the first draft. B.P. and N.K. wrote and edited the final manuscript. D.M.S. provided substantial edits and suggestions for each of the drafts. All authors edited and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Naama Kanarek.

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Kanarek, N., Petrova, B. & Sabatini, D.M. Dietary modifications for enhanced cancer therapy. Nature 579, 507–517 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2124-0

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