"Our study adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests diet can influence the course of the disease," said lead author Simon Knott, Associate Director at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre -- a US-based non-profit.
"This study may have implications not only for breast cancer, but for many metastatic cancers," added Ravi Thadhani, from the varsity. In the study, the team of researchers discovered that the appearance of asparagine synthetase- the enzyme cells used to make asparagine, in a primary tumour was strongly associated with cancer growth later.
"The study suggests that changes in diet might impact both how an individual responds to primary therapy and their chances of lethal disease spreading later in life," said Gregory J. Hannon, professor at the University of Cambridge in England.
Researchers are now looking to conduct an early-phase clinical trial in which healthy participants would consume low-asparagine diet. If the findings are confirmed in human cells, limiting the amount of asparagine cancer patients ingest could be a potential strategy to augment existing therapies and to prevent the spread of breast cancer.
With Inputs from IANS
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