New Study Shows Common Sugar Can Boost Power Of Cancer-Fighting Cells

While glucose is often considered simply as an energy booster, a new study shows it plays a critical role in the immune system. The study, conducted by the scientists at the Van Andel Institute, Michigan, United States, has revealed that T cells rely on glucose to support internal communication and enhance their ability to target cancer cells.

Published in Cell Metabolism on September 2, the research shows glucose’s role as a building block for molecules that power T cells’ anti-cancer functions.

T cells, or T lymphocytes, are a type of white blood cell that plays a central role in the immune system to fight infections. They are critical for identifying and attacking infected or abnormal cells, including cancer cells, viruses and bacteria.

"Immune cells are highly influenced by their environment," said Joseph Longo, PhD, the study’s first author, as per Science Daily. While it was previously thought that T cells mainly break down glucose for energy, the research shows they also use glucose as a building block to create molecules essential for their anti-cancer activity, Longo said.

The study found that T cells convert a significant portion of glucose into glycosphingolipids, sugar-fat compounds crucial for T cell growth and their ability to produce proteins that attack cancer cells. GSLs also form lipid rafts — fat-rich structures on T cell surfaces that gather indicating proteins, directing the T cells to kill tumours. Without these GSLs, T cells lose some of their cancer-fighting effectiveness.

T cells and cancer cells rely on different nutrients to support various aspects of their function, according to Russell Jones, head of the Van Andel Institute lab. "The more we know about these different fuel sources, the better we can support T cells' innate cancer-fighting abilities while also developing ways to possibly make cancer cells more vulnerable to immune attack,” he said.

The findings complement insights from experts at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, who caution against common misconceptions about sugar and cancer. Santosha Vardhana, a physician-scientist at MSK, notes that while cancer cells consume sugar, “if you try to starve cancer of one thing, such as sugar, it will eat something else.”

According to Vardhana, cancer cannot be prevented or treated simply by eliminating sugar from the diet.

Registered dietitian-nutritionists Christina Stella and Cara Anselmo at MSK also outlined the importance of balanced nutrition during cancer treatment. Eating a Mediterranean-style diet rich in whole fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and complex carbohydrates can help keep the body strong while limiting ultra-processed foods. They also stress tailoring dietary strategies to each patient’s needs, accounting for treatment side effects such as nausea, fatigue, or weight changes.