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Fig. 1 | BMC Medicine

Fig. 1

From: When less may be more: calorie restriction and response to cancer therapy

Fig. 1

Mechanisms through which calorie restriction (CR) affects response to anticancer therapy. CR, fasting, or fasting-mimicking diets (FMDs) cause reduced Akt/mTOR and Ras signaling in normal cells, resulting in senescence, reduced growth, and protection from cytotoxic treatment, while in tumor cells, oncogenic signals remain and cells are sensitive to anti-mitotic therapies. CR, fasting, and FMD also reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines in the circulation and in the tumor microenvironment niche, as well as reduced leptin, insulin, IGF-1, and glucose. CR can reduce desmoplasia surrounding the tumor tissue, which may facilitate better therapeutic drug delivery to the tumor cells. CR can also aid in immunosurveillance of tumors by reducing Treg populations that inhibit cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. This figure has not been published elsewhere

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