Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have successfully increased cancer cells’ sensitivity to chemotherapy by preventing sugar uptake. Their study, “Targeting Glut1 In Acute Myeloid Leukemia To Overcome Cytarabine Resistance,” is published in Haematologica.
It is true that sugar feeds every cell in our body, even cancer cells. Researchers have long wondered if it would be possible to prevent glucose from entering the cancer cell and in that way increase the effect of chemotherapy.
To enable sugar molecules to enter the cancer cell through the cell membrane, the cell uses glucose transporters (GLUTs), which allow substances in and out.
