A High-Fat Diet Starves Immune Cells, Tumor Growth Goes Unchecked

Sitting down to enjoy an indulgent Christmas feast? A recent study in mice by Harvard Medicine scientists found that a diet high in saturated fat can stunt immune cells, allowing cancer cells to run rampant. The fatty diet also triggers tumor cells to tweak their metabolisms, allowing them to be fueled by fat instead of sugar. This further supports their uncontrolled growth in the absence of immune push-back.

In the study, led by cell biologist Marcia Haigis and published in the journal Cell, the research team provided new insights on the impact of diet on cancer immunity. Specifically, they found a sharp decline in the presence of cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes within tumors. These white blood cells play a key role in antitumor immunity via their capacity to recognize and kill malignant cells.

However, a diet high in fat cripples the ability of these immune cells to fight back against tumors. The authors managed to unravel the mechanism behind this phenomenon: tumor cells rewire their metabolisms to take full advantage of the abundance of fat (an energy-rich fuel source), which allows them to flourish, leaving “starving” T cells in their tracks.

“Putting the same tumor in obese and nonobese settings reveals that cancer cells rewire their metabolism in response to a high-fat diet,”…