Mediterranean diet ‘linked to improved cancer treatment response’

Eating healthy is important for everyone, but it could be lifesaving for some cancer patients.

A new study out of England and the Netherlands has linked a Mediterranean diet — one of the healthiest diets in the world — to a positive response to immune checkpoint blockade.

According to the study, immune checkpoint blockade, or ICB, “has improved the survival of patients with advanced melanoma. Durable responses are observed for 40% to 60% of patients, depending on treatment regimens.”

Despite those promising numbers, the study’s authors wrote, “patients experience a range of immune-related adverse events of differing severity.”

“The connection between the diet, gut microbes and helping the immune system fight cancer is one of the most exciting areas of medical research,” professor Tim Spector, study co-lead, told the Independent. “Our two publications clearly show the importance of a gut friendly diet on improving your chances of surviving a cancer.

“Medical practice is often falling behind the latest finding on diet and gut microbes, but I believe all cancer patients should now be given potentially lifesaving dietary advice, such as increasing plant diversity, reducing junk food and adding fermented foods before starting therapies,” Spector added.

A Mediterranean diet is high in whole grains, fish, nuts, fruits and vegetables.

The study collected data from 91 patients receiving ICB between 2018 and 2021 for advanced melanoma in the U.K. and the Netherlands, and was published in the journal JAMA Oncology.