24-03-2025
Sugar Stores In The Body May Fuel Common Lung Cancer Progression: Study
A recent study from researchers at the University of Kentucky has identified glycogen, a stored form of glucose, as a significant factor in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma, a particularly aggressive form of lung cancer.
The findings, recently published in Nature Metabolism, suggest that heightened levels of glycogen are linked with increased lung adenocarcinoma tumor aggressiveness and poorer survival rates.
Researchers tested the effects of glycogen in mice and humans. Researchers increased glycogen levels in mice through dietary changes and gene modification. This dual approach allowed them to examine the effects of glycogen from different angles.
The mice were fed different types of diets to see how they affected their bodies. The diets included water (as a control), high-fructose corn syrup (a type of sugar), corn oil (a fat), and a mix of high-fructose corn syrup and corn oil.
While both corn oil and high-fructose corn syrup increased glycogen levels in the lungs, after two weeks, the mice receiving the mixed diet (high-fructose corn syrup + corn oil) had much higher glycogen levels and longer glycogen chains in their lungs. Both of which was linked to more aggressive lung tumors when the mice were induced to have lung adenocarcinoma.
These findings indicated that 'higher glycogen promotes increased tumour progression,' the researchers wrote.
In parallel with the dietary models, the team also used genetic mouse models predisposed to accumulate glycogen in the lungs.
By disabling the enzyme responsible for glycogen production, they found that tumors grew much smaller and were less aggressive. This suggests that targeting glycogen production could be a potential strategy for treating lung adenocarcinoma.
'This integrated approach allows the discovery and validation of key metabolic drivers' necessary for improving treatments for lung adenocarcinoma, the researchers wrote. Through these experiments, they were able to demonstrate that disrupting glycogen production resulted in reduced tumor growth in these mice.
The study also involved a comprehensive cohort of 276 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, where spatial analysis revealed significant glycogen accumulation, particularly in tumor regions compared to surrounding healthy tissue and in other types of lung cancer.
The findings suggest that heightened levels of glycogen are linked with increased tumor aggressiveness and poorer survival rates among patients.
'These findings raise the possibilities of metabolic vulnerabilities associated with diet that should be intriguing avenues for future research, such as studying the impact of dietary patterns on lung cancer survival in human populations,' the study authors wrote.
People should be aware that regularly taking foods with a high glycemic index such as sugary drinks, white bread, processed snacks, and candies can do them more harm than just increasing blood sugar, food scientist Ken Tobby told The Epoch Times.
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