CANCER.
Simplified thread on the Metabolism of it.
We know two things for sure that cancer cells do:
1. They keep growing even when they are told to stop (inability to respond to Cell Cycle Signalling)
2. They have the capacity to pick themselves up, #Health #Cancer 1/
Simplified thread on the Metabolism of it.
We know two things for sure that cancer cells do:
1. They keep growing even when they are told to stop (inability to respond to Cell Cycle Signalling)
2. They have the capacity to pick themselves up, #Health #Cancer 1/
leave and grow in a new place (Metastasize). Why they exhibit such behavior is currently not fully known (causation) but we do they that they have two signatures that are unique to cancer cells.
1. All Cancer cells tend to be glucose users. #Health #Cancer 2/
1. All Cancer cells tend to be glucose users. #Health #Cancer 2/
You will only be able to understand this is an odd characteristic when we tell you that in a normal fasted state, the default thing is to use fat and lactate. (What is a fasted state? A fasted state is one in which you have completely digested and absorbed #Health #Cancer 3/
your last meal/snack and your insulin levels are at a low or baseline level. In general, this would be at least three to four hours after a meal). Because they are continuously trapping glucose molecules, they light up in the PET Scan #Health #Cancer 4/
2. Downstream there are a lot of metabolic changes the most important of which is that in order to do this uncontrolled growth, they have to do uncontrolled nucleic acid synthesis. Nucleic acids are molecules in a cell that carry information #Health #Cancer 5/
and are composed of glucose, phosphate and nitrogen compounds. Now the first question that comes to mind is if we can see on the PET that these cells are glucose users and we can identify those areas where they are present, let us just cut-off glucose..right? #Health #Cancer 6/
This proposition is a tough nut to crack because of two things:
1. It is next to impossible to get circulating glucose in the body down to a minimum level. Just to give you a sense of the range of glucose in a normal person’s body to type II diabetic. #Health #Cancer 7/
1. It is next to impossible to get circulating glucose in the body down to a minimum level. Just to give you a sense of the range of glucose in a normal person’s body to type II diabetic. #Health #Cancer 7/
It’s 5 gms for a healthy person with a fasting of 70mg/dl 10gms in a diabetic person with a fasting of 170 mg/dl.
That is a 5-gram variation in the entire body!
Across the range of an entirely healthy for a non-healthy person! #Health #Cancer 8/
That is a 5-gram variation in the entire body!
Across the range of an entirely healthy for a non-healthy person! #Health #Cancer 8/
2. Even if you are able to restrict circulating glucose, there are various other internally stored fuel that starts to get used up.
1. Glycogen
2. Amino Acid fuel
3. Fat fuel
4. Lactate fuel
5. Ketone body fuel
Given these conditions, the basic structure #Health #Cancer 9/
1. Glycogen
2. Amino Acid fuel
3. Fat fuel
4. Lactate fuel
5. Ketone body fuel
Given these conditions, the basic structure #Health #Cancer 9/
of fighting it, revolves around the following logic.
If we can interrupt the ability of the cancer cells to synthesize nucleic acids like DNA, RNA etc. the cancer cells will mutate more and this mutation will give more targets to the immune system #Health #Cancer 10/
If we can interrupt the ability of the cancer cells to synthesize nucleic acids like DNA, RNA etc. the cancer cells will mutate more and this mutation will give more targets to the immune system #Health #Cancer 10/
system to score the final goal. This is the essence of how the current research in the field of immunology is proceeding towards.
Before the readers get confused at the above statement and say, wait! Isn’t metastatic nature the same as a mutation? No. #Health #Cancer 11/
Before the readers get confused at the above statement and say, wait! Isn’t metastatic nature the same as a mutation? No. #Health #Cancer 11/
To metastasize is to spread from one place to another whereas to mutate is to change in form or nature.
Also mutation is not the same as breaking into two pieces..
The current fight against cancer revolved around two areas: #Health #Cancer 12/
Also mutation is not the same as breaking into two pieces..
The current fight against cancer revolved around two areas: #Health #Cancer 12/
a) Hit hard on one lever, which is to reduce the amount of fuel in the cancer cells OR/AND to reduce the number of cancer cells by radiation such that when complemented with chemotherapy, fuel reduction is more efficient per chemo session. #Health #Cancer 13/
Infact fuel reduction was the very first basis for medicine and chemotherapy interventions that started in early 1950s’. It started with anti – foliates which were drugs that tried to stop cancer cells from using folic acid as their energy source...AND #Health #Cancer 14/
b) Hope for a stalemate with multiple methods of combat that includes the immunotherapy interventions that revolve around the basic underlying philosophy of immunology highlighted above.
An emerging alternate field is including nutrition interventions as well #Health #Cancer 15/
An emerging alternate field is including nutrition interventions as well #Health #Cancer 15/
A ketogenic diet/ glucose-deficient diet in combination with a strengthening immune system and chemotherapy hopes to systematically reduce the available fuel in the cells for mutations to occur more frequently which is right in the middle of the immune system field of play. 16/
End of Thread 17/17
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