26 Jul Cancer Prevention: Study Finds Adding Resistant Starch to Diet Decreased GI Cancers in Lynch Syndrome

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Prof. Mathers

Prof. John C. Mathers PhD
Director, Human Nutrition Research Centre
Director, Centre for Healthier Lives
Population Health Sciences Institute
Newcastle University
Newcastle on Tyne UK

MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  

Response: My colleagues and I have had a long-term interest in carrying out studies in people with hereditary cancer as a model for cancer in the general population. Here we studied people with Lynch syndrome who have an inherited defect in one of the genes encoding the DNA mismatch repair system. Because of this, they accumulate DNA damage faster than the general population and are prone to early cancers at several sites around the body.

In the CAPP2 Study, we randomised almost 1000 people with Lynch syndrome to either resistant starch or to an ordinary corn-starch placebo.

MedicalResearch.com:    Would you describe resistant starch and where it is found?

Response: Resistant starch consists of starch that is not digested in the human small intestine. Resistant is a normal component of many starchy foods including bread, pulses (peas and beans) and bananas, especially those that are a little under-ripe.

MedicalResearch.com:    What are the main findings?

Response: The present study was a long term follow-up of patients with Lynch syndrome who had been given resistant starch or placebo in a randomised controlled trial lasting about 2 years. In this study, we examined cancer outcomes at least 10 years after the end of the intervention trial. We found that significantly fewer of those people who had been randomised to resistant starch had cancers outside the colorectal (large bowel) compared with those randomised to the placebo. In particular, there were many fewer cancers in the upper gastrointestinal tract including liver, pancreas, gall bladder, stomach and duodenum.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: This this the first study to demonstrate that a dietary intervention can reduce cancer risk in people with Lynch syndrome. This is particularly important because, at present, there are no easy to use ways of screening for these cancer and so they are usually diagnosed late.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work? 

Response: This is the first study to show that a supplement of resistant starch can prevent upper gastrointestinal cancers in people with Lynch syndrome. Future research should attempt to replicate these findings. In addition, because cancers at these sites also occur in the general population, it will be important to discover whether additional resistant starch is also beneficial in preventing these cancers in the general population. 

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: This study opens new avenues for research on the biological mechanisms through which resistant starch can reduce cancer risk. We think that this will involve altered metabolism by the gut microbiome.

Any disclosures?

No disclosures 

Citation:

John C. Mathers, Faye Elliott, Finlay Macrae, Jukka-Pekka Mecklin, Gabriela Möslein, Fiona E. McRonald, Lucio Bertario, D. Gareth Evans, Anne-Marie Gerdes, Judy W.C. Ho, Annika Lindblom, Patrick J. Morrison, Jem Rashbass, Raj S. Ramesar, Toni T. Seppälä, Huw J.W. Thomas, Harsh J. Sheth, Kirsi Pylvänäinen, Lynn Reed, Gillian M. Borthwick, D. Timothy Bishop, John Burn; on behalf of the CAPP2 Investigators, Cancer Prevention with Resistant Starch in Lynch Syndrome Patients in the CAPP2-Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial: Planned 10-Year Follow-up. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 2022; https://doi.org/10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-22-0044

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Last Updated on July 26, 2022 by Marie Benz MD FAAD