A groundbreaking study from University of Florida Health suggests that diet may play a significant role in lung cancer development, particularly lung adenocarcinoma—the most common form of lung cancer globally.
While dietary influence is well documented in cancers of organs like the liver and pancreas, this study is among the first to link poor dietary habits to lung cancer risk.
Funded by NIH grants and conducted in collaboration with the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center, the study utilized an advanced spatial metabolomics platform developed in 2020. This platform enabled researchers to analyze molecular patterns with unprecedented precision.
The study builds on 20 years of research on Lafora disease, a rare neurological condition characterized by glycogen accumulation. Researchers found that a similar glycogen build-up occurs in lung cancer cells. Glycogen, a sugar-based storage molecule, acts as an oncogenic metabolite that fuels tumor growth.
Using lab and computational models, the study showed that mice fed a high-fat, high-fructose Western diet developed more aggressive lung tumors due to increased glycogen levels. When glycogen was reduced, tumor growth slowed significantly.
These findings highlight glycogen as a powerful predictor of tumor size and mortality in lung cancer. More importantly, existing drugs targeting glycogen—originally developed for Lafora disease—might be repurposed for lung cancer treatment.
The researchers emphasize that preventive strategies against lung cancer should include promoting nutrient-rich diets, reducing alcohol intake, and encouraging active lifestyles—similar to successful anti-smoking campaigns. These lifestyle changes could serve as powerful tools for public health and cancer prevention.
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The study is published in Nature Metabolism.
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