Mannose and chemotherapy

Cancer cells consume much more glucose than healthy ones. Unfortunately, the management of glucose levels in the body depends not only on diet – a systematic approach is required here. A study by a group of scientists from the UK says that mannose competes with glucose and thus reduces the amount of available glucose in the body.  The fact is that mannose is captured by the same carrier proteins as glucose, and its accumulation in the cell occurs in the form of mannose-6-phosphate. The presence of this substance in the cell hinders further glucose metabolism.

The problem with reducing the amount of glucose entering the body is that healthy tissues also need sugar for normal functioning, so it will not be possible to completely remove glucose. Scientists in the course of experiments were able to choose such a dosage of mannose, which was able to slow down the growth of the tumor in mice, but it did not lower the glucose level so much as to harm healthy tissues.

At the first stage of the experiment, mice with tumors of the pancreas, lungs and skin were given only mannose orally. After the scientists saw the effect described above (tumor growth slowed down, healthy tissues did not suffer), they decided to check how the use of mannose would affect the effectiveness of chemotherapy. To do this, in addition to mannose, mice received one of the most common drugs used for chemotherapy: cisplatin or doxorubicin. The researchers noted that mannose increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy, slows down the growth of the tumor, and helps to reduce its size. It is also noted that in some mice that received both the drug and mannose, life expectancy increased.

Several other types of cancer, including leukemia, osteosarcoma, and ovarian cancer, have also been tested for susceptibility to mannose. For this purpose, cell cultures grown in the laboratory were used, which were treated with mannose.

It turned out that not all cells perceive therapy in the same way: the growth of some slowed down, while there were no changes in the growth and activity of others. Scientists have also found that the amount of the enzyme phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) in cells is related to how cells respond to the effects of mannose: the smaller the enzyme, the more susceptible cells are to mannose. The amount of this enzyme differs in tumor cells of different types, as well as in cultures of tumor cells of the same type. In this regard, the level of PMI in cells can be used as a biomarker to determine the susceptibility of tumor cells to mannose therapy.

The researchers warn that, despite promising results, you should not self–medicate and use even a seemingly harmless drug like mannose without prescribing a doctor, since this study is just the beginning. Clinical studies on humans have yet to be conducted, and possible side effects from the use of mannose have not yet been studied.

Article by Gonzalez et al. Mannose impairs tumour growth and enhances chemotherapy is published in Nature.

Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru / based on Cancer Research UK: Sugar supplement slows tumour growth and can improve cancer treatment in mice.