Immunonutrition hope? Oral nutritional supplement on cancer treatment

Abstract

Cancer's natural history and clinical outcome depend upon complex interactions among tumour cells, the immune system and host body homeostasis. Oncoimmunology is a new pillar of cancer therapy adding to surgery, chemo-and radiotherapy, and it is just the tip of an iceberg of new opportunities to improve patient recovery, recently demonstrated by the strategies that have motivated the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine. [1][2][3] A hyperinflammatory state depletes antioxidant defences and suppresses lymphocyte function. In cancer patients, immunosuppression installs by diverse mechanisms, including increased inflammatory and oxidant stress. However, reactive oxygen species (ROS) or nitric oxide, reactive nitrogen species may play a double-faced role in cancer, entailing protumorigenic and tumour-suppressing effects in early and later stages, respectively. In that sense, antioxidants could be deleterious in the escape phase (3rd phase) during which ROS or nitric oxide would have a pro-tumour effect, depending on