A Common Sugar May Help Cancer Cells Break Free and Spread: What the Research Shows

Why ovarian cancer returns after treatment and how it spreads remain important research questions. A recent preclinical study examined the signals released by cancer cells that survive chemotherapy and identified fructose as one possible factor that may encourage nearby cancer cells to spread.

Bram Goldstein, Ph.D., President and Senior Clinical Fellow of the Women’s Cancer Research Foundation, provides clinical context on the findings and the questions they raise.

A Clinical Perspective of Fructose as Possible Factor of Cancer Cell Spread from Bram Goldstein, Ph.D.

Nearly all ovarian cancer patients receive platinum-based chemotherapy, and the initial response is often enduring. Nevertheless, the cancer returns in most cases and typically spreads throughout the abdominal cavity. This process, known as metastasis, is responsible for roughly 90% of deaths from ovarian cancer.

A study published in Nature Aging has identified a surprising connection between fructose, a widely consumed dietary sugar, and the spread of an aggressive type of ovarian cancer. The researchers found that fructose serves as one of the chemical messages released by these treatment-surviving cancer cells. The discovery reveals a previously unknown way that cancer cells left behind after therapy may contribute to metastasis.

The findings suggest that cancer cells that remain after chemotherapy can communicate with nearby tumor cells and make them more likely to spread.

The team also found that high amounts of dietary fructose, comparable to the levels present in sugary drinks, could encourage cancer spread even when chemotherapy had not been given. This raises the possibility that dietary habits may influence how cancer progresses, especially since high fructose corn syrup accounts for ~8–20% of daily calorie intake in the United States.

Fortunately, unlike other risk factors that patients cannot change, fructose intake can be reduced through dietary choices.

Why This Research Matters

Understanding how cancer cells that survive treatment influence nearby cells may help researchers uncover new ways to study ovarian cancer recurrence and metastasis. Identifying fructose as a possible chemical signal adds another piece to that complex picture.

These findings come from preclinical research and have not shown that reducing dietary fructose improves outcomes for ovarian cancer patients. For now, the study identifies an important direction for further investigation, not a dietary recommendation.

Read the original article: A Common Sugar May Help Cancer Cells Break Free and Spread — ScienceDaily

Medical note: This article is intended for educational purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or individualized screening or treatment recommendations. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional about personal health concerns.