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Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Jul 18 8:12am | Replies (25)
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@melcanada

FROM MAYO
Myth: People who have cancer shouldn't eat sugar, since it can cause cancer to grow faster.
Fact: More research is needed to understand the relationship between sugar in the diet and cancer. All kinds of cells, including cancer cells, depend on blood sugar (glucose) for energy. But giving more sugar to cancer cells doesn't make them grow faster. Likewise, depriving cancer cells of sugar doesn't make them grow more slowly.

This misconception may be based in part on a misunderstanding of positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which use a small amount of radioactive tracer — typically a form of glucose. All tissues in your body absorb some of this tracer, but tissues that are using more energy — including cancer cells — absorb greater amounts. For this reason, some people have concluded that cancer cells grow faster on sugar. But this isn't true.

There is some evidence that consuming large amounts of sugar is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, including esophageal cancer. Eating too much sugar can also lead to weight gain and increase the risk of obesity and diabetes, which may increase the risk of cancer.

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Replies to "FROM MAYO Myth: People who have cancer shouldn't eat sugar, since it can cause cancer to..."
northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Jul 18 8:12am

"This misconception may be based in part on a misunderstanding of positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which use a small amount of radioactive tracer — typically a form of glucose. All tissues in your body absorb some of this tracer, but tissues that are using more energy — including cancer cells — absorb greater amounts. For this reason, some people have concluded that cancer cells grow faster on sugar. But this isn't true."

Ah yes, the Dunning-Kruger effect at work: the less I know about a topic, the more confident I am drawing broad conclusions. I kid myself that I can tell the Bank of Canada *exactly* how it should manage the Canadian economy, but ask me about the field where I actually spent 6 years doing my Ph.D. research (nothing to do with to economics), and you'll hear a lot of "maybe", "probably", and "it depends on the context." 🙂

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