PhD Scientific Days 2022

Pathology and Oncology I. (Poster discussion will take place in the Aula during the Coffee Break)

The Effect of Methyl-donor Intake on Survival of Cancer Patients

Text of the abstract

Introduction
Complementary care (diet, psychological support and physical activity) receives growing attention in treatment of cancers. Dietary methyl-donors are bioactive food components which can have role in metabolic pathways to ensure availability of methyl-groups. Imbalanced nutritional status of methyl donors has been linked to pathological conditions like cancer. Previously, we found that methyl-donors are able to reduce tumor cell proliferation possibly by decreasing MAPK/ERK pathway along with elevated apoptosis and decrease VEGF and SDF-1 expressions while increase E-cadherin level.
Aims
Our aim was to investigate lifestyle factors and overall survival of cancer patients to see if methyl donors might be part of dietary intervention or complementary treatment.
Methods
A questionnaire survey was conducted among cancer patients about lifestyle habits and socio-demographical situation using close ended questions. Methyl-donor intake (folate, vitamin B2, B6 and B12, methionine, betaine, choline) was questioned by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Descriptive statistics and Mantel-Cox log-rank test were used to evaluate data related to interviewed patients.
Results
We interviewed 114 eligible patients including 41 breast (BC), 37 colorectal (CRC) and 36 pancreatic (PC) cases. The average age of BC, CRC and PC groups were 52.95 ± 12.14, 58.68 ± 9.23 and 60.44 ± 9.29, respectively. Most smoking patients appeared in PC group (28%) but occasional alcohol consumption was the highest in BC group (47%).
Kaplan-Meier curves showed better overall survival of BC patients when folate (p=0.0182) and vitamin B6 (p=0.0115) intake were around RDI (400µg and 1.3-2 mg, respectively), and when vitamin B6 (p=0. 0167) and methionine (p=0.0141) intakes of CRC patients were around RDI (1.3-2 mg and 19mg/kg, respectively). PC patients needed methionine intake above RDI (2.4µg) to reach longer survival (p=0.0115).
Conclusion
Our results showed that appropriate intake of methyl-donors might contribute to longer life expectancy of breast, colorectal and pancreatic cancer patients by improving cellular metabolism and optimizing nutritional status. Therefore, we assume that proper nutritional guidance may improve physiology and overall survival of cancer patients and could be helpful part of cancer treatments.
Funding
This research was supported by ÚNKP-21-4-I-SE-19.