A sugar food supplement slows down deadly cancers and makes chemotherapy more effective, a study has found.
Mannose, a supplement sometimes used to treat or prevent urinary tract infections, has been proven to help treat cancer in mice.
The sugar works by blocking cancerous tumours from absorbing too much glucose – which they feed off – essentially starving them of energy they need to grow.
Experiments on mice with pancreatic, lung or skin cancer showed promising results for the supplement, and it could also help treat leukaemia and bone, ovarian or bowel cancers.
But experts stressed the research, which hasn’t been tried on humans yet, is at an early stage and warned people not to take it upon themselves to use mannose.
Scientists found giving mannose alongside commonly-used chemotherapy drugs made them more effective, and the sugar slowed the growth of cancerous tumours in mice with lung, skin or pancreatic cancers (pictured: stock image of lung cancer cells under a microscope)
A study led by Cancer Research UK tested the use of mannose on its own or alongside chemotherapy drugs.
When it was added to water and swallowed by mice, the sugar slowed the growth of pancreas, skin or lung tumours without causing any obvious side effects.
And when taken alongside chemotherapy medications, the drugs had a stronger effect.
In the trial mannose was given alongside common drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin – together they reduced the size of tumours and even extended the lives of some mice.
‘Tumours need a lot of glucose to grow, so limiting the amount they can use should slow cancer progression,’ said Professor Kevin Ryan, the study’s lead author from the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute.
‘The problem is that normal tissues need glucose as well, so we can’t completely remove it from the body.
‘In our study, we found a dosage of mannose that could block enough glucose to slow tumour growth in mice, but not so much that normal tissues were affected.
‘This is early research, but it is hoped that finding this perfect balance means that, in the future, mannose could be given to cancer patients to enhance chemotherapy without damaging their overall health.’
Mannose sugar can be taken as a supplement to prevent urinary tract infections, which it’s thought to be able to do by preventing certain types of bacteria sticking to the urinary tract.
The body absorbs it using the same type of protein which absorbs glucose – the type of sugar both cancerous tumours and health muscles use for energy.
Researchers think that, by taking mannose, people could clog up these proteins and reduce the amount of glucose taken in and used up by cancer cells.
As well as the three in which mannose was found to work, scientists believe leukaemia, osteosarcoma, ovarian and bowel cancer patients could benefit.
But tests on these types of the disease had mixed results.
Professor Ryan added: ‘Our next step is investigating why treatment only works in some cells, so that we can work out which patients might benefit the most from this approach.
‘We hope to start clinical trials with mannose in people as soon as possible to determine its true potential as a new cancer therapy.’
Martin Ledwick, Cancer Research UK’s head nurse, added: ‘Although these results are very promising for the future of some cancer treatments, this is very early research and has not yet been tested in humans.
‘Patients should not self-prescribe mannose as there is a real risk of negative side effects that haven’t been tested for yet.
‘It’s important to consult with a doctor before drastically changing your diet or taking new supplements.’
The findings were published in the journal Nature today.