There is an ingredient that many consume every day, often without thinking about it. It is present in “zero sugar” drinks, in “light” sweets and even in some drugs. We are talking about Sucralose, one of the most popular artificial sweeteners in the world. But now, according to new research conducted by two US oncological centers, there may be a serious problem: Sucralose could reduce the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments against cancer.
The study, published in the scientific journal Cancer Discovery And conducted by doctors of the University of Pittsburgh and the UPMC Hillman oncological Center, it found that even small quantities of Sucralose are associated with worse responses to treatments in patients with advanced melanoma, lung cancer and high risk melanoma after intervention.
A concrete effect
The researchers analyzed the food data of 157 oncological patients subjected to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), a type of immunotherapy used for different types of cancer, such as advanced melanoma, non -small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and high -risk melanoma after surgery.
Before the start of the treatment, each patient compiled a detailed questionnaire on his daily diet. The results emerged a surprising figure: those who consumed more than 0.16 milligrams of Sucralose per kilo of body weight per day (just over 11 mg per day for a person of 70 kg) presented significantly worse answers to therapy.
In detail:
And all this with quantities well below the daily limits considered safe by the health authorities such as the FDA, as DiWakar Davar, one of the authors of the research, pointed out:
There is no need to see a negative effect.
Sucralose, also known by the commercial name Shineis present in many foods and drinks “without sugar”: from light drinks to protein desserts, to certain drugs and supplements. It is considered safe by many regulatory agencies, but this new study suggests that in the specific context of oncological immunotherapy, even very small doses could compromise the effectiveness of the treatment.
The mechanism is linked to a change in the intestinal microbiota which reduces arginine availability in the body. Arginine is crucial for the activity of T lymphocytes: without it, immune cells fatigue, become less active and less capable of fighting the tumor.
But there is also a possible solution: according to the researchers, integrating the diet with arginine or citrulline (which is transformed into arginine by our body) could help restore the correct functioning of the immune system even in the presence of Sucralose. These supplements are already available on the market, but will be the subject of further clinical studies to evaluate their effectiveness in a more precise way.
The future of research: are other sweeteners really sure?
The study opens the door to new questions about how much artificial sweeteners – not only subcralose, but also aspartame, saccharin, xylitol and stevia – are influenced the response of the immune system in oncological patients.
To date, Sucralose is one of the few to have been studied in such a thorough way in the context of immunotherapy. But the researchers themselves underline the need to deepen the effects of the other sweeteners, given that many of them interact with the intestinal bacterial flora and, consequently, could have an impact on our state of health.
Waiting for further confirmations, a prudent advice for those under the oncological treatment with immunotherapy could be to limit the consumption of artificial sweeteners, especially if containing sucralose, and talking to their oncologist. Even a small change in the diet can make a big difference.
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