Quran and Medicine

Quran and Medicine

A review of the effect of fasting on cancer: its prevention or treatment

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Hatam Ahmadi 1
Elaheh Moharam 2
1 Assistant Professor of Department of Biology Education University of Farhangian, Tehran, Iran
2 Bach. Student of Department of Biology Education University of Farhangian, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Recent studies on the lifestyle of cancer patients have shown that environmental factors have a significant impact on the onset and progression of cancer. The sensitivity of cancer cells to food and energy restriction is one of the topics studied in the field of cancer prevention and treatment. One of these calorie restriction methods is fasting, which has various types. Fasting in Islam is a form of worship in which a Muslim refrains from eating, drinking, etc. from the morning call to the evening call. This is a review article by reviewing articles from various databases including PubMed, Google Scholar and Science Direct and searching for keywords: intermittent fasting, Ramadan fasting, fasting, food restriction, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, system Immunity and Cancer deals with the effect of fasting in the prevention of cancer and its treatment, by reducing the side effects of chemotherapy and increasing its effectiveness. The results of the study show that calorie restriction can prevent the growth and development of cancer, as well as its effectiveness. to increase chemotherapy and radiation therapy, although more and more detailed studies in larger groups are needed to definitively conclude the clinical effectiveness of fasting in the prevention and treatment of people with cancer. Also, oncologists should carefully assess the health conditions of patients and prohibit them from fasting in case of metastasis or aggressive cancers.
Keywords
Fasting
cancer
prevention
chemotherapy
1.    Iraki L, Bogdan A, Hakkou F, Amrani N, Abkari A, Touitou Y. Ramadan diet restrictions modify the circadian time structure in humans. A study on plasma gastrin, insulin, glucose, and calcium and on gastric pH. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997; 82:1261–73.
2.    Shehab A, Abdulle A, El Issa A, Al Suwaidi J, Nagelkerke N. Favorable changes in lipid profile: the effect of fasting after Ramadan. PLoS ONE 2012;7: e47615.
3.    Meo S, Hassan A. J Pak Med Assoc. Physiological changes during fasting in Ramadan. J Pak Med Assoc. 2015;65(5 Suppl 1): 6-14.
4.    Mirzaei B, Rahmani-Nia F, Moghadam MG, Ziyaolhagh SJ, Rezaei A. The effect of ramadan fasting on biochemical and performance parameters in collegiate wrestlers. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2012; 15:1215–20.
5.    Cheng CW, Adams GB, Perin L, Wei M, Zhou X, Lam BS et al. Prolonged fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic-stem-cell-based regeneration and reverse immuno- suppression. Cell Stem Cell. 2014; 14:810-823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. stem.2014.04.014.
6.    Brandhorst S, Choi IY, Wei M, Cheng CW, Sedrakyan S, Navarrete G, et al.  A periodic diet that mimics fasting promotes multi-system regeneration, enhanced cognitive perfor- mance, and healthspan. Cell Metab. 2015; 22:86-99. https://doi.org/10. 1016/i.cmet.2015.05.012.
7.    Gasmi M,  Sellami M,  Denham J,  Padulo J,  Kuvacic G,  Selmi W. et al. Time-restricted feeding influences immune responses without compromising muscle performance in older men. Nutrition, 2018. 51:29-37. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2017.12.014. Epub 2018 Feb 3.
8.    Nakamura H,  Kouda K,  Fan W,  Watanabe T,  Takeuchi H. Suppressive effects on allergic contact dermatitis by short-term fasting. Toxicologic pathology, 2001. 29 (2): 200-207.
9.    Razeghi Jahromi S, Ghaemi A, Alizadeh A, Sabetghadam F, Moradi Tabriz H, Togha M. Effects of Intermittent fasting on experimental autoimune encephalomyelitis in C57BL/6 mice. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2016; 15:212-9.
10.    Askari VR, Alavinezhad A, Boskabady MH. The impact of “Ramadan fasting period” on total and differential white blood cells, haematological indices, inflammatory biomarker, respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function tests of healthy and asthmatic patients. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr). 2016; 44(4):359–67. doi: 10.1016/j.aller.2015.10.002.
11.    Shawky S, Zaid A, Orabi S, Shogby K, Hassan W. Effect of intermittent fasting on brain neurotransmitters, neutrophils phagocytic activity, and histopathological finding in some organs in rats. Int J Res Stud Biosci .2015; 3:38–45.
12.    Terra G Arnason, Matthew W Bowen,Kerry D Mansell . Effects of intermittent fasting on health markers in thoseWith type 2 diabetes: A pilotStudy World journal of diabetes. 2017; 8 (4), 154-164. doi: 10.4239/wjd. v8. i4.154.
13.    Bhatti  S.I,  Mindikoglu AL. Metabol Open.The impact of dawn to sunset fasting on immune system and its clinical significance in COVID-19 pandemic . Metabol Open. 2022; 13:100162. doi: 10.1016/j.metop. 2021.100162. 
14.    Mittelman SD. The Role of Diet in Cancer Prevention and Chemotherapy Efficacy. Annu Rev Nutr. 2020; 23; 40:273-297. doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-013120-041149. Epub 2020 16.
15.    Choi IY, Lee C, Longo VD. Nutrition and fasting mimicking diets in the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases and immunosenescence. Mol. Cell Endocrinol. 2017; 455:4-12.
16.    Yang HS, Yoon C, Myung SK, Park SM. Effect of obesity on survival of women with epithelial ovarian cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Int. J. Gynecol. Cancer. 2011; 21:1525-32
17.    Orgel E, Genkinger JM, Aggarwal D, Sung L, Nieder M, Ladas EJ. Association of body mass indexAnd survival in pediatric leukemia: a meta-analysis. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2016; 103:808-17
18.    Luo J, Chlebowski RT, Hendryx M, Rohan T, Wactawski-Wende J, et al. Intentional weight loss and endometrial cancer risk. J. Clin. Oncol. 2017; 35:1189-93
19.    Berrigan D, Perkins SN, Haines DC, Hursting SD. Adult-onset calorie restriction and fasting delay spontaneous tumorigenesis in p53-deficient mice. Carcinogenesis. 2002; 23:817-22.
20.    Tomasi C, Laconi E, Laconi S, Greco M, Sarma DS, Pani P. Effect of fasting/refeeding on the incidence of chemically induced hepatocellular carcinoma in the rat. Carcinogenesis. 1999; 20:1979-83.
21.    Schumacher B, Garinis GA, Hoeijmakers JH. Age to survive: DNA damage and aging. Trends Genet. 2008;24(2):77–85.
22.    Jing Z , Yanlin D, Bee L. Fasting to enhance cancer treatment in models the next steps .journal of Biomedical Science Zhang et al. J Biomed Sci. 2020 May 5;27(1):58..https://doi.org/10.1186/s12929-020-00651-0.
23.     De Groot S, Pijl H, van der Hoeven JJ,  Kroep‏ JR. Judith R  Effects of short term fasting on cancer . J Exp Clin Cancer Res.  2019 May 22;38(1):209. doi: 10.1186/s13046-019-1189-9.
24.    De Berardinis RJ, Lum JJ, Hatzivassiliou G, Thompson CB. The biology of cancer: metabolic reprogramming fuels cell growth and proliferation. Cell Metab. 2008;7(1):11-20.
25.    Vander Heiden MG, Cantley LC, Thompson CB. Understanding the Warburg effect: the metabolic requirements of cell proliferation. Science. 2009; 324(5930):1029-33.
26.    Lankelma J, Kooi B, Krab K, Dorsman JC, Joenje H, Westerhoff HV. A reason for intermittent fasting to suppress the awakening of dormant breast tumors. Biosystems. 2015; 127:1-6.
27.    Bianchi G, Martella R, Ravera S, Marini C, Capitanio S, Orengo A, et al. Fasting induces anti Warburg effect that increases respiration but reduces ATP-synthesis to promote apoptosis in colon cancer models. Oncotarget. 2015;6(14):11806-19.
28.    Lee C, Raffaghello L, Brandhorst S, Safdie FM, Bianchi G, Martin-Montalvo A, et al. Fasting cycles retard growth of tumors and sensitize a range of cancer cell types to chemotherapy. Sci. Transl. Med. 2012;4(124):124ra27.
29.    Galluzzi L, Baehrecke EH, Ballabio A, Boya  P, Bravo-San Pedro  JM., Cecconi  F, et al. Molecular def- initions of autophagy and related processes. EMBO J. 2017; 36:1811– 1836. https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.201796697.
30.    Kroemer G, Marino G, Levine B. Autophagy and the integrated stressResponse. Mol Cell. 2010;40(2):280-93.
31.    Chen N, Karantza V. Autophagy as a therapeutic target in cancer. Cancer Biol Ther. 2011; 11:157–168. https://doi.org/10.4161/cbt. 11.2.14622. 
32.    Lebovitz CB, Robertson AG, Goya R, Jones SJ, Morin RD, Marra MA, Gorski SM. Cross-cancer profiling of molecular alter- ations within the human autophagy interaction network. Autophagy. 2015; 11:1668-1687. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2015.1067362 
33.    Longo, V. D. and M. P. Mattson, Fasting: molecular mechanisms and clinical applications. Cell metabolism, 2014. 19 (2): p. 181-192.
34.    Kacimi S, Ref’at A, Fararjeh MA,, Bustanji  YK, Mohammad  M K, Salem ML et al., Intermittent fasting during Ramadan attenuates proinflammatory cytokines and immune cells in healthy subjects. Nutrition research, 2012. 32 (12): p. 947-955.
35.    Mohamed A I, Abdi A M, Abdilahi MM. Ramadan Intermittent Fasting and Its Beneficial Effects of Health: A Review Article. Cent Af J Pub HealT. 2020; 6(5): 288-292. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20200605.17.
36.    Sun P, Wang H, He Z, Chen X, Wu Q, et al. Fasting inhibits colorectal cancer growth by reducing M2 polarization of tumor-associated macrophages. Oncotarget . 2017; 8:74649-60.
37.    Djiogue S, Nwabo Kamdje AH, Vecchio L, Kipanyula MJ, Farahna M, Aldebasi , et al. Insulin resistance and cancer: the role of insulin and IGFs. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2013;20(1): 1-17.
38.    Cheng C. W, Perin L, Wei M, Zhou X, B Lam B, et al., Prolonged fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic-stem-cell-based regeneration and reverse immunosuppression. Cell stem cell, 2014. 14 (6): p. 810-823.
39.    Kalaany NY, Sabatini DM. Tumours with PI3K activation are resistant to
dietary restriction. Nature. 2009;458(7239):725–31.
40.    Sohal RS, Weindruch R. Oxidative stress, caloric restriction, and aging. Science. 1996;273(5271):59–63.
41.    Lee C, Longo VD. Fasting vs dietary restriction in cellular protection and cancer treatment: from model organisms to patients. Oncogene. 2011; 30(30):3305-16.
42.    Conklin KA. Dietary antioxidants during cancer chemotherapy: impact on chemotherapeutic effectiveness and development of side effects. Nutr Cancer. 2000;37(1):1-18.
43.    Burney S, Niles JC,  Dedon P C,  Tannenbaum SR. DNA damage in deoxynucleosides and oligonucleotides treated with peroxynitrite. Chem Res Toxicol. 1999;12(6):513-20.
44.    Sharifi MN, Mowers EE, Drake LE, Collier C, Chen H, Zamora M, et al. Autophagy promotes focal adhesion disassembly and cell motility of metastatic tumor cells through the direct interaction of Paxillin with LC3. Cell Rep. 2016; 15:1660- 1672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.04.065. 
45.    Kusuoka O, Fujiwara-Tani R, Nakashima C, Fujii K, Ohmori H, Mori T, et al. Intermittent calorie restriction enhances epithelial-mesenchymal transition through the alteration of energy metabolism in a mouse tumor model. Int J Oncol. 2018;52(2):413-23.
46.    Ibrahim WH, Habib HM, Jarrar AH, Al Baz SA. Effect of Ramadan fasting on markers of oxidative stress and serum biochemical markers of cellular damage in healthy subjects. Ann Nutr Metab. 2008; 53:175–81. 
47.    Raffaghello  L,  Lee C, Safdie FM, Wei M, Madia F, Bianchi G, et al. Starvation-dependent differential stress resistance protects normal but not cancer cells against high-dose chemotherapy. 2008; 105 (24) 8215-8220. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0708100105.
48.    Safdie F, Brandhorst S, Wei M, Wang W, Lee C, Hwang S, et al. Fasting enhances the response of glioma to chemo- and radiotherapy. PLoS One .2012; 7(9):e44603. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044603.
49.     Steuerman R, Shevah O, Laron Z. Congenital IGF1 deficiency tends to confer protection against post-natal development of malignancies. Eur J Endocrinol. 2011;164(4):485-9.
50.    Safdie FM, Dorff T, Quinn D,Fontana L, Wei M, Lee C, Cohen P, Longo VD. Fasting and cancer treatment in humans: a case series report. Aging. 2009;1(12):988–1007.
51.    Badar T, Ismail A, Alshanqqeeti A (2014) Safety and feasability of Muslim fasting while receiving.
52.    Descamps O, Riondel J, Ducros. V Mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species and incidence of age-associated lymphoma in OF1 mice: Effect of alternate-day fasting. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development. Volume 126, Issue 11, November 2005, Pages 1185-1191.
53.     Chen X,  Lin X,  Li M. Comprehensive Modulation of Tumor Progression and Regression with Periodic Fasting and Refeeding Circles via Boosting IGFBP-3 Loops and NK Responses. Endocrinology, Volume 153, Issue 10, 1 October 2012, Pages 4622–4632, https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2011-2101.
54.    Khan S, Woolhead G. Perspectives on cervical cancer screening among educated Muslim women in Dubai (the UAE): a qualitative study. BMC Womens Health. 2015; 15(1):90. doi:10.1186/s12905-015-0252-8.
55.    Lee C, Raffaghello L,  Brandhorst S, Safdie FM, Bianchi G, Martin-Montalvo A, et al. Fasting cycles retard growth of tumors and sensitize a range of cancer cell types to chemotherapy. Sci Transl Med. 2012; 4(124):124ra27.
56.    Dorff TB, et al. Safety and feasibility of fasting in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy. BMC Cancer. 2016; 16(1):360.
57.    Sriplung H, Bilheem S, Kuntipundee T, Geater SL. Differences in cancer incidence among predominantly Muslim and Buddhist subpopulations in Songkhla. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2014; 15(22):9979–83. doi:10.7314/APJCP.2014.15.22.9979.
58.     Rouhani  MH, Azadbakht L. Is Ramadan fasting related to health outcomes? A review on the related evidence. J Res Med Sci. 2014; 19(10): 987–992.