Scientists from the University of Southern California found that consuming foods containing large amounts of the amino acid methionine can cause malignant tumors in the head and neck area. Research results published In the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Scientists are focusing on identifying the factors that cause upper aerodigestive squamous cell carcinoma, an aggressive type of malignant tumor of the respiratory tract, head and neck that affects more than half a million people worldwide each year.
They found that oral cancers contained higher amounts of methionine than other types of tumors, an amino acid that people get from foods like seafood, eggs, and beef.
Further studies showed that blocking the LAT1 transporter, a membrane protein responsible for taking methionine into cells, slowed tumor growth. Additionally, animal experiments and laboratory models of organs and tissues have shown that a diet low in methionine helped reduce the growth rate of cancer tumors by half (compared to a standard diet).
Scientists explained that malignant cells need methionine more than normal cells, meaning they need it to survive. At the same time, normal cells are less sensitive to the lack of this amino acid.
Earlier scientists to create Unusual islands in the skulls of patients with aggressive brain cancer.