- New research from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center suggests that sucralose, a popular sugar substitute, may interfere with the effectiveness of certain cancer treatments.
- Patients with melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer who consumed high levels of sucralose responded worse to immunotherapy and had poorer survival rates.
- The study, primarily conducted on mice, found that sucralose disrupts gut bacteria, leading to a depletion of the amino acid arginine, which is essential for T-cell function and effective immunotherapy.
- Researchers discovered that supplementing with arginine counteracted the negative effects of sucralose on immunotherapy treatments in mice.
- Future plans include pursuing clinical trials to determine if arginine supplementation can mitigate sucralose's effects in humans and investigating the impact of other artificial sweeteners on the immune system and cancer treatments.
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