Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access originally published online on April 29, 2008
JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2008 100(9):619-621; doi:10.1093/jnci/djn142
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© Oxford University Press 2008.
NEWS |
Understanding Pathways of Calorie Restriction: A Way To Prevent Cancer?
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For decades, researchers have been intrigued by calorie restriction, a tried and true way of extending lifespans in creatures ranging from yeast and roundworms to flies and mice. Aside from increasing the lifespan of organisms up to 80% in some studies, calorie restriction (with proper nutrition) also leads to lower insulin, glucose, and blood pressure levels, as well as increased white blood cell count.
Particularly enticing is the possibility for caloric restriction to prevent, delay, and shrink a variety of tumors, a finding that seems to complement those of recent studies linking obesity and cancer. In animal studies, researchers reduce food intake by 10%–60%, but because such extreme dieting would be unrealistic in humans, many researchers are now examining the biological pathways affected by caloric restriction with the aim of developing preventive agents for cancer as well as other diseases associated with aging. Together with the growing field of
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