Nutrition and Metabolism in Cancer: Role in Prevention and Prognosis

It has been reported that a 5 kg/sqm increase in BMI can be considered a risk factor for several solid and non-solid cancers (cancer of the thyroid, kidney, and colon, esophageal adenocarcinoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) in both sexes. Also, the risk of dying of cancer was 50% to 62% higher in people with highest BMI, and obesity can interfere with therapies and contribute to morbidity from chemotherapy. The complexity of epidemiological evidence about the relationship between obesity and cancer reflects the wide interplay among metabolic pathways involved in cancer development, progression, and pharmacological responsiveness. To date, a plethora of circulating factors and molecular alterations, whereby obesity can lead to carcinogenesis, have been detected. Despite this, primarily relevant mechanisms are not well understood. Since it is undoubtedly clear that obesity is one modifiable risk factor for tumorigenesis, lifestyle interventions addressed to reduce adiposity, including dietary changes and physical activity, play a pivotal role in cancer prevention. Dietary contents modulate microbiome composition which in turn influences nutrient absorption, impairs host energy homeostasis by regulating lipid and glucose metabolism, and provides immunomodulatory effects, through a crosstalk with the host.

Although some foods (e.g., allium and broccoli) and micronutrients (e.g., selenium, vitamin D, carotenoids) have been studied for their anti-cancer properties, it has emerged that studying dietary patterns as a whole is more beneficial than considering single nutrients. Among various dietary patterns, the traditional Mediterranean diet seems to produce substantial health benefits. Finally, strategies to remodel fat, including browning and lifestyle interventions, should be taken into consideration as a major perspective to limit excess body weight and tumor onset.

This Research Topic aims to elucidate the role of dietary and lifestyle interventions in regulating metabolic pathways responsible for carcinogenesis, encompassing both the mechanisms and molecular foundation of this interaction, with the aim of assessing at-risk populations and proposing new prevention strategies. In this aspect, the present Research Topic will be also focused on novel research efforts which aim to evaluate potential nutritional interventions, including either specific dietary patterns or foodstuffs ingredients, which may prevent or even co-treat obesity and related cancer diseases.

We welcome original research and reviews on topics related, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Mechanisms and molecular foundations of the interplay between obesity and cancer progression: impact of nutrition on tumor initiation, growth, and metastasis.
• Novel indicators for evaluating the risk of cancer initiation and prognosis.
• Dietary patterns, bioactive compounds, and foodstuff ingredients with anti-obesity properties: potential molecular mechanisms.
• Nutritional interventional and observational studies on dietary patterns for the prevention and/or co-treatment of obesity and cancer.
• Nutritional interventional and observational studies on naturally occurring bioactive compounds and foodstuffs ingredients for the prevention and/or co-treatment of obesity and cancer.
• Nutritional management and lifestyle counseling of people being affected by cancer and quality of life promotion.

Keywords: Metabolic Diseases, Cancer, Obesity, Microbiome, Nutritional Interventions

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.