University of Oklahoma researchers received a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how high-fat diets influence pancreatic cancer tumor growth.
Pancreatic cancer remains among the most difficult malignancies to treat, with obesity serving as a major risk factor tied directly to dietary habits. Principal investigator Kamiya Mehla and her team want to discover how a diet heavy in saturated fats weakens the body’s natural anti-tumor immune response while altering how cancer cells process lipids.
In preliminary laboratory work, Mehla and her colleagues observed that mice consuming a lard-based high-fat diet developed much more aggressive tumors than control mice eating an identical number of calories from low-fat food.
“When anti-tumor immune cells take in a lot of fat, they become functionally impaired and their anti-tumor activity goes down,” said Kamiya Mehla, associate professor of oncology science in the OU College of Medicine and a research member of OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center on the OU Harold Hamm Health Campus, as reported by ou.edu.
“The tumor cells are forcing the immune cells to take in more fat – we want to understand how that is happening.”
Dietary Fats Alter Immune Function
The research team is currently investigating whether excess fat directly alters the metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells. Investigators hypothesize that diets rich in monounsaturated fats give tumors better access to lipids, which fuels their survival and uncontrolled proliferation.
The study also examines how tumor cells exposed to high fat levels disrupt the body’s immune defenses both inside the tumor microenvironment and systemically. These laboratory investigations build on earlier findings showing that mice fed a lard-based high-fat diet accumulated higher numbers of granulocytes, a specific population of immune cells known to hinder the immune system’s fight against cancer.
Researchers discovered that suppressing the activity of these granulocytes allowed other immune cells to attack pancreatic cancer cells more effectively.
“We want to understand how a high-fat diet affects both the immune system’s ability to fight cancer and the tumor’s ability to grow,” Mehla told ou.edu.
Researchers Will Analyze Human Pancreatic Cancer Tissue Samples
Alongside animal experiments, the scientific team will analyze human pancreatic cancer tissue samples. They plan to search for metabolic shifts mirroring the processes identified in their murine models.
The overarching goal of the project is mapping the complex interactions linking diet, obesity, immune function, and tumor metabolism in pancreatic disease. Leah Hoffman Anderson, a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the OU College of Allied Health, serves as a co-investigator on the project, contributing her perspective as a registered and licensed dietitian.
Anderson brings clinical experience helping patients manage cachexia, a severe wasting syndrome characterized by rapid muscle and weight loss frequently diagnosed in pancreatic cancer patients. Cachexia leaves patients physically fragile and less able to withstand rigorous cancer therapies.
Guidance for Cancer Patients
Dietitians have traditionally advised cachexia patients to consume high-calorie foods to preserve their body weight. Anderson said that the new grant could help clinicians refine nutritional support strategies while accounting for how dietary fats might influence tumor progression.
“We want to understand how we can best support patients’ nutritional needs while learning more about how diet may affect their cancer,” Anderson told ou.edu.
Patients and their families frequently ask clinicians what they should eat after a diagnosis, according to Anderson. The research aims to give providers evidence-based guidance that offers patients a greater sense of dietary control.
“Many patients and their families ask what they should or shouldn’t be eating,” Anderson told ou.edu. “We hope this research will help us provide patients with guidance based on scientific evidence and give them a greater sense of control.”
What Is Cachexia and How Do Granulocytes Influence Tumor Growth?
What is cachexia and why does it affect pancreatic cancer patients?
Cachexia is a debilitating condition involving severe muscle and weight loss that frequently accompanies pancreatic cancer. It weakens patients significantly, often reducing their physical tolerance for standard cancer treatments.
How do granulocytes influence tumor growth in high-fat diet models?
Granulocytes are a type of immune cell that accumulate in higher numbers under high-fat dietary conditions. Researchers found these cells interfere with the immune system’s capacity to fight cancer, though suppressing their activity helps other immune cells attack tumor cells.
Who is leading the National Cancer Institute-funded study?
Kamiya Mehla, an associate professor of oncology science at the OU College of Medicine, serves as the principal investigator for the five-year project.
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