Diet rich in nuts, olive oil and legumes may help fight skin cancer

Eating a diet high in healthy fats can help fight cancer, according to a study. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes olive oil, nuts, and fish, as well as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Such a diet has a number of health benefits, helping to avoid serious diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, and prolonging life.

Studies have shown that it can also increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with skin cancer. Patients who followed the diet and received medication were more likely to survive and avoid progression after 12 months.

Study author and nutritionist Laura Bolte from the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands: “Our study confirms the role of dietary strategies in improving patient outcomes and survival.”

Researchers from the UK and the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands monitored the diet of 91 patients with advanced melanoma who were taking immune checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs have worked especially well for people with melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. Researchers studied the progress of patients and gave them frequent X-ray examinations. Those who followed the Mediterranean diet not only responded better to the medications, they didn’t get any worse even a year later.

The study also found that whole grains and legumes, in particular, reduced the chance of side effects from immunotherapy drugs, such as colitis, an inflammation of the colon. People who consumed a lot of red and processed meat suffered more side effects.

Prof. Bolte: “The relationship of IKI response to diet and the gut microbiome opens up a promising and exciting future for improving treatment outcomes. Clinical trials are currently underway examining the effects of a high-fiber diet, a ketogenic diet, and omega-3 supplements. As ICI therapy expands to different types of tumors, including cancers of the digestive system, these studies may benefit a large group of cancer patients in the future.”

Trials are expanding to include different types of tumors in cancers of the digestive system.

ICI drugs work by blocking the immune system’s checkpoints, causing the body’s own T cells, a type of white blood cell, to fight cancer.

The American Cancer Society has said that melanoma rates have risen significantly in recent years. It is estimated that about 99,780 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the US in 2022 (about 57,180 in men and 42,600 in women). And about 7,650 people are expected to die from melanoma (roughly 5,080 men and 2,570 women). You are more than 20 times more likely to get melanoma if you are white than Africans. The lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 2.6% (one in 38) for whites, 0.1% (one in 1,000) for blacks, and 0.6% (one in 167) for Hispanics. This type of cancer is more common in men, but before the age of 50 it is more common in women.

The older you are, the greater your risk of developing melanoma. The median age of diagnosis is 65, but this is not unusual for those under 30 either.

It is one of the most common cancers in young people, especially young women.

Christina DENISYUK.

Source dailymail.co.uk

Photo by Shutterstock/Oleksandra Naumenko