Highlights
No two cancers are the same, nor are they treated the same, and neither should nutrition be the same for everyone. Nutrition includes foods like pulses, vegetables, fruits, nuts, oils, herbs and spices. Also nutrition includes supplements which are high concentrations of foods or high concentrations of individual ingredients found in foods. For cancers like Essential Thrombocythemia when undergoing chemotherapy or when you determine you have a genetic risk for developing Essential Thrombocythemia because of CALR and BCOR gene mutations, a very important question is “What foods should I avoid and what foods are recommended specifically for me?”. The other related question is “What nutritional supplements should I avoid?”.
There is no one answer to this question for cancers such as Essential Thrombocythemia which can be found through internet searches. The answer to the question is “It Depends” because the nutrition plan needs to be personalized for you. Nutrition should depend on the cancer indication, genetic information, adult or pediatric, staging, primary or secondary, advanced, metastatic, relapsed or refractory, ongoing treatments if any, nutritional supplements being taken, age and factors like gender, weight, height, lifestyle, allergies and food preferences.
In short – the process to answer questions like “Should I Avoid eating fruit Cranberry” or “Include fruit Pitanga in my diet” or “Should I reduce consumption of vegetable Heart Of Palm” or “Can I take Andrographis and Vitamin C supplements” is not as simple as internet searches. The process is very complex and answers are based on knowhow of genetics, action of treatments, active ingredients in foods and their associated biological action. Finally the answer to the nutrition question needs to be personalized for you.
RECOMMENDATION: PERSONALIZE YOUR FOODS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA, TREATMENTS, GENETIC INFORMATION, AND OTHER CONDITIONS.
The overall objective of personalized nutrition for Essential Thrombocythemia is to minimize foods and nutritional supplements which have adverse interactions with cancer molecular drivers and ongoing treatments. And identify those foods and supplements which have a beneficial action. Whenever there are changes in treatments or diagnosis – it is important to remember that your foods and supplements need re-evaluation. And the answers to the nutrition question could be different based on the new context.
RECOMMENDATION: UPDATE YOUR NUTRITION FOR ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA, WHEN TREATMENTS, DISEASE STATUS AND OTHER CONDITIONS CHANGE.
About Essential Thrombocythemia
cBioPortal is one source of collection of cancer patient data from clinical trials across 350 plus cancer indications. The data from each clinical trial includes the clinical trial name and study details like number of patients, ages, gender, ethnicity, treatments, tumor site, genetic aberrations found and analysis of all the data. The cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics was originally developed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). The public cBioPortal site is hosted by the Center for Molecular Oncology at MSK – https://www.cbioportal.org/about.
Following key highlights are derived from clinical data for Essential Thrombocythemia from cBioPortal. From a patient sample size of 52; the top genes with mutations and other abnormalities for Essential Thrombocythemia include genes CALR, BCOR, TET2, EZH2 and MPL. The occurrence frequency distribution for these genes respectively is 29.2%, 6.2%, 6.2%, 4.2% and 4.2%. These tumor genetic details of Essential Thrombocythemia are mapped to molecular biochemical pathway drivers of cancer thereby providing definition of characteristic features of Essential Thrombocythemia.
Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a rare blood disorder that results in patients having increased numbers of platelets. This is part of a family of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Platelets are the smallest blood cells that are needed for successful clotting of the blood after an injury. Most people with an elevated platelet count do not have essential thrombocythemia and this may occur due to iron deficiency, infection, or generalized inflammation. ET is caused by an internal genetic defect leading to excessive production of abnormal blood cells, and therefore can be considered as a chronic type of leukemia, but with an overall excellent prognosis and often requiring minimal to no treatment. One of the key genes found to be mutated in ET is a kinase JAK2, and in 40% of ET patients without a JAK2 mutation, CALR (calreticulin) gene is mutated. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with ET than men. The greatest health risk in patients with ET is an increased risk of developing blood clots. Blood clots can develop in the deep vessels of the legs or lungs. Patients with ET are also more likely to experience strokes and heart attacks. Other symptoms in ET also include headaches, fatigue, temporary changes in vision, dizziness, ringing in the ears, vertigo and tingling in the hands. ET can very rarely transform, in about 1-2% of patients, into a more severe related disease called myelofibrosis or into acute leukemia. Treatment for essential thrombocythemia is targeted towards reducing the risk of clotting events and patients are treated with low dose aspirin. For patients considered at high risk for clotting, a stronger medicine such as hydroxyurea is used. There are other additional medicines and chemotherapy that can be utilized to reduce the risk of clotting. Smoking increases the risk of clotting in patients with ET and it is recommended to avoid smoking. Additionally, the right nutrition (foods and natural supplements) can improve the well-being of patients’ with ET. (Ref: https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/essential-thrombocythemia/; https://www.lls.org/sites/default/files/file_assets/essentialprimarythrombocythemia.pdf )
Significance of Nutrition for Essential Thrombocythemia
All foods and nutritional supplements consist of a collection of one or more active chemical ingredients in different proportions and quantities. The action of some active ingredients in a food can have adverse interactions while other active ingredients in the same food may be supportive from the context of Essential Thrombocythemia. Hence the same food has good and not-so-good actions and analysis of combined effect will be needed to come up with a personalized nutrition plan.
For example Cranberry includes active ingredients Quercetin, Ellagic Acid, Vitamin C, Resveratrol, Myricetin and others. And Pitanga contains active ingredients Quercetin, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and others. It is likely that some of these active ingredients of the same food could have opposing effects and hence it is recommended to identify recommended foods based on analysis of all high quantity ingredients contained in foods.
For cancers like Essential Thrombocythemia, activation or inhibition of selected biochemical pathways like Suppressive Histone Methylation, Noncoding RNA Signaling, Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics, Hypoxia plays an important role in driving cancer growth. Similarly different treatments work via different molecular actions which should never be canceled out by your foods and supplements. The foods and nutritional supplements contain different active ingredients each of which have a specific molecular action on different biochemical pathways. Hence, eating some foods and nutritional supplements would be recommended with a specific treatment of Essential Thrombocythemia, while eating some other foods and supplements may not be recommended.
One common mistake when finding foods to eat or not – is to consider only a few active ingredients contained in foods based on internet searches and ignore the rest. Because different active ingredients contained in foods may have opposing effects on relevant biochemical pathways – it is recommended to consider all the high quantity active ingredients that are present in significant and much larger than trace amounts in the food.
RECOMMENDATION: TO FIND RECOMMENDED AND NON-RECOMMENDED FOODS FOR ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA – CONSIDER HIGH QUANTITY ACTIVE INGREDIENTS CONTAINED IN FOODS.
Foods for Essential Thrombocythemia undergoing chemotherapy treatment
In Essential Thrombocythemia – the genes CALR, BCOR, TET2, EZH2 and MPL have high occurrences of genomic abnormalities. Not all of these genes necessarily are relevant for cancer – though they have been reported. Some of these genes directly or indirectly end up manipulating different cancer related biochemical biological pathways. Some of the pathways which are relevant drivers for Essential Thrombocythemia are Suppressive Histone Methylation, Noncoding RNA Signaling, JAK-STAT Signaling and others. Imatinib is one of the chemotherapies used for cancer treatment. The intent of treatment is to negate or cancel out effects of biochemical pathway drivers Suppressive Histone Methylation, Noncoding RNA Signaling, JAK-STAT Signaling so as to reduce disease progression and inhibit growth. Those foods whose combined action of active ingredients support treatment action and do not enhance disease drivers are recommended foods and supplements which will be included in personalized nutrition. And similarly – those foods whose combined action of active ingredients is not supportive of treatment action but end up promoting disease drives will not be recommended in your personalized nutrition plan.
RECOMMENDATION: AVOID SUPPLEMENTS AND FOODS WHICH ARE NOT SUPPORTIVE OF CANCER TREATMENT ACTION AND RATHER ENHANCE DISEASE DRIVERS.
Eat more pulses, Common Pea or Yellow Wax Bean?
Pulses are an important part of many diets. The active ingredients contained in Common Pea are Vitamin C, Daidzein, Lupeol, Oleic Acid, Linolenic Acid among others. While the active ingredients contained in Yellow Wax Bean are Vitamin C, Cianidanol, Ferulic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Butyric Acid and others.
Vitamin C can manipulate biochemical pathways Suppressive Histone Methylation, MYC Signaling and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. Beta-sitosterol has biological action on biochemical pathways Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics, Hypoxia and MYC Signaling.
Palmitic Acid can manipulate biochemical pathways Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics. Folic Acid has biological action on biochemical pathways MYC Signaling, RAS-RAF Signaling and JAK-STAT Signaling. And so on.
When treating Essential Thrombocythemia with chemotherapy Imatinib – Foods like Common Pea are recommended compared to Yellow Wax Bean. This is because the active ingredients Palmitic Acid and Folic Acid in Yellow Wax Bean interferes with treatment action by canceling out the biochemical pathways through which the chemotherapy works. While the active ingredients Vitamin C and Beta-sitosterol contained in Common Pea support the treatment action by enhancing the biochemical pathway effect through which the chemotherapy works.
RECOMMENDATION: COMMON PEA IS RECOMMENDED OVER YELLOW WAX BEAN FOR ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA ON TREATMENT WITH CHEMOTHERAPY IMATINIB FOR SOME CONDITIONS.
Eat more vegetables, Broccoli or Heart Of Palm?
Vegetables are an important part of many diets. The active ingredients contained in Broccoli are Vitamin C, Brassinin, Oleic Acid, Sulforaphane, Linolenic Acid among others. While the active ingredients contained in Heart Of Palm are Vitamin C, Palmitic Acid, Vitamin A, Folic Acid and others.
Vitamin C can manipulate biochemical pathways Suppressive Histone Methylation, MYC Signaling and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. Brassinin has biological action on biochemical pathways JAK-STAT Signaling, MYC Signaling and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling.
Palmitic Acid can manipulate biochemical pathways Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics. Folic Acid has biological action on biochemical pathways MYC Signaling, RAS-RAF Signaling and JAK-STAT Signaling. And so on.
When treating Essential Thrombocythemia with chemotherapy Imatinib – Foods like Broccoli are recommended compared to Heart Of Palm. This is because the active ingredients Palmitic Acid and Folic Acid in Heart Of Palm interferes with treatment action by canceling out the biochemical pathways through which the chemotherapy works. While the active ingredients Vitamin C and Brassinin contained in Broccoli support the treatment action by enhancing the biochemical pathway effect through which the chemotherapy works.
RECOMMENDATION: BROCCOLI IS RECOMMENDED OVER HEART OF PALM FOR ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA ON TREATMENT WITH CHEMOTHERAPY IMATINIB FOR SOME CONDITIONS.
Eat more fruits, Pitanga or Cranberry?
Fruits are an important part of many diets. The active ingredients contained in Pitanga are Quercetin, Vitamin C, Vitamin A among others. While the active ingredients contained in Cranberry are Quercetin, Ellagic Acid, Vitamin C, Resveratrol, Myricetin and others.
Vitamin C can manipulate biochemical pathways Suppressive Histone Methylation, MYC Signaling and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. Quercetin has biological action on biochemical pathways Noncoding RNA Signaling, JAK-STAT Signaling and Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics.
Ellagic Acid can manipulate biochemical pathways MYC Signaling. Myricetin has biological action on biochemical pathways Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics. And so on.
When treating Essential Thrombocythemia with chemotherapy Imatinib – Foods like Pitanga are recommended compared to Cranberry. This is because the active ingredients Ellagic Acid and Myricetin in Cranberry interferes with treatment action by canceling out the biochemical pathways through which the chemotherapy works. While the active ingredients Vitamin C and Quercetin contained in Pitanga support the treatment action by enhancing the biochemical pathway effect through which the chemotherapy works.
RECOMMENDATION: PITANGA IS RECOMMENDED OVER CRANBERRY FOR ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA ON TREATMENT WITH CHEMOTHERAPY IMATINIB FOR SOME CONDITIONS.
Eat more nuts, Almond or Peanut?
Nuts are an important part of many diets. The active ingredients contained in Almond are Quercetin, Vitamin E, Oleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Beta-sitosterol among others. While the active ingredients contained in Peanut are Quercetin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Gamma-linolenic Acid, Oleic Acid and others.
Beta-sitosterol can manipulate biochemical pathways MYC Signaling, Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics and Hypoxia. Quercetin has biological action on biochemical pathways Noncoding RNA Signaling, Suppressive Histone Methylation and JAK-STAT Signaling.
Lecithin can manipulate biochemical pathways MYC Signaling, JAK-STAT Signaling and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. Folic Acid has biological action on biochemical pathways RAS-RAF Signaling, MYC Signaling and JAK-STAT Signaling. And so on.
When treating Essential Thrombocythemia with chemotherapy Imatinib – Foods like Almond are recommended compared to Peanut. This is because the active ingredients Lecithin and Folic Acid in Peanut interferes with treatment action by canceling out the biochemical pathways through which the chemotherapy works. While the active ingredients Beta-sitosterol and Quercetin contained in Almond support the treatment action by enhancing the biochemical pathway effect through which the chemotherapy works.
RECOMMENDATION: ALMOND IS RECOMMENDED OVER PEANUT FOR ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA ON TREATMENT WITH CHEMOTHERAPY IMATINIB FOR SOME CONDITIONS.
Foods for Genetic Risk of Essential Thrombocythemia
One of the ways to assess risk of cancer is by checking for presence of genetic abnormalities in a set of genes. There is prior information on a list of genes whose mutations and other aberrations can play a role in risk to different cancers. CALR and BCOR are two genes whose abnormalities are risk factors for Essential Thrombocythemia. In such a cancer risk situation – while there are typically no treatments which a physician can prescribe – the various biochemical pathways which are potentially molecular drivers of Essential Thrombocythemia can be used as a guide for coming up with a recommended personalized nutrition plan. For Essential Thrombocythemia gene CALR has causative impact on biological pathways like Antigen Presentation and Post Translation Modification. And BCOR has a causative impact on biological pathways like Oncogenic Histone Methylation, Oncogenic Histone Methylation and Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics. Foods and nutritional supplements which have molecular action to cancel out biochemical pathways effects of genes like CALR and BCOR should be included in a personalized nutrition plan. And those foods and supplements which promote the effects of genes CALR and BCOR should be avoided.
Eat more pulses, Scarlet Bean or Moth Bean?
The active ingredients contained in Scarlet Bean are Linolenic Acid, Beta-sitosterol, Vitamin C, Stigmasterol, Oleic Acid among others. While the active ingredients contained in Moth Bean are Linolenic Acid, Beta-sitosterol, Stigmasterol, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid and others.
Beta-sitosterol can manipulate biochemical pathways Apoptosis, MYC Signaling and P53 Signaling. Vitamin C has biological action on biochemical pathways Cell Cycle Checkpoints, PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling and Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics.
Vitamin A can manipulate biochemical pathways PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. Folic Acid has biological action on biochemical pathways Apoptosis, JAK-STAT Signaling and MYC Signaling. And so on.
For genetic risk of Essential Thrombocythemia due to abnormalities in genes CALR and BCOR – Foods like Scarlet Bean are recommended compared to Moth Bean. This is because the active ingredients Vitamin A and Folic Acid in Moth Bean further promote the effects of genes on the biochemical pathways. While the active ingredients Beta-sitosterol and Vitamin C contained in Scarlet Bean together have a canceling effect of genes on the biochemical pathways.
RECOMMENDATION: SCARLET BEAN IS RECOMMENDED OVER MOTH BEAN FOR REDUCING THE GENETIC RISK OF ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA DUE TO GENES CALR AND BCOR
Eat more vegetables, Giant Butterbur or Beetroot?
The active ingredients contained in Giant Butterbur are Beta-sitosterol, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, Melatonin, Vitamin A among others. While the active ingredients contained in Beetroot are Vitamin E, Linolenic Acid, Beta-sitosterol, Vitamin C, Oleic Acid and others.
Vitamin C can manipulate biochemical pathways Apoptosis, MYC Signaling and P53 Signaling. Beta-sitosterol has biological action on biochemical pathways Cell Cycle Checkpoints, PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling and Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics.
Vitamin A can manipulate biochemical pathways PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. Folic Acid has biological action on biochemical pathways Apoptosis, JAK-STAT Signaling and MYC Signaling. And so on.
For genetic risk of Essential Thrombocythemia due to abnormalities in genes CALR and BCOR – Foods like Giant Butterbur are recommended compared to Beetroot. This is because the active ingredients Vitamin A and Folic Acid in Beetroot further promote the effects of genes on the biochemical pathways. While the active ingredients Vitamin C and Beta-sitosterol contained in Giant Butterbur together have a canceling effect of genes on the biochemical pathways.
RECOMMENDATION: GIANT BUTTERBUR IS RECOMMENDED OVER BEETROOT FOR REDUCING THE GENETIC RISK OF ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA DUE TO GENES CALR AND BCOR
Foods to Eat After Cancer Diagnosis!
No two cancers are the same. Go beyond the common nutrition guidelines for everyone and make personalized decisions about food and supplements with confidence.
Eat more fruits, Kiwi or Huckleberry?
The active ingredients contained in Kiwi are Vitamin C, Quercetin, Chlorogenic Acid, Fisetin, Vitamin A among others. While the active ingredients contained in Huckleberry are Resveratrol, Vitamin C, Quercetin, Ferulic Acid, P-coumaric Acid and others.
Vitamin C can manipulate biochemical pathways Apoptosis, MYC Signaling and P53 Signaling. Quercetin has biological action on biochemical pathways JAK-STAT Signaling, Cell Cycle Checkpoints and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling.
Resveratrol can manipulate biochemical pathways P53 Signaling. Pelargonidin has biological action on biochemical pathways MYC Signaling, Cell Cycle Checkpoints and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. And so on.
For genetic risk of Essential Thrombocythemia due to abnormalities in genes CALR and BCOR – Foods like Kiwi are recommended compared to Huckleberry. This is because the active ingredients Resveratrol and Pelargonidin in Huckleberry further promote the effects of genes on the biochemical pathways. While the active ingredients Vitamin C and Quercetin contained in Kiwi together have a canceling effect of genes on the biochemical pathways.
RECOMMENDATION: KIWI IS RECOMMENDED OVER HUCKLEBERRY FOR REDUCING THE GENETIC RISK OF ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA DUE TO GENES CALR AND BCOR
Eat more nuts, Hazelnut or Macadamia Nut?
The active ingredients contained in Hazelnut are Vitamin E, Linolenic Acid, Oleic Acid, Quercetin, Linoleic Acid among others. While the active ingredients contained in Macadamia Nut are Beta-sitosterol, Palmitic Acid, Lauric Acid, Myristic Acid, Folic Acid and others.
Vitamin E can manipulate biochemical pathways Apoptosis, MYC Signaling and P53 Signaling. Quercetin has biological action on biochemical pathways JAK-STAT Signaling, Cell Cycle Checkpoints and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling.
Palmitic Acid can manipulate biochemical pathways Oncogenic Cancer Epigenetics and Chromatin Remodeling. Lauric Acid has biological action on biochemical pathways MYC Signaling and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. And so on.
For genetic risk of Essential Thrombocythemia due to abnormalities in genes CALR and BCOR – Foods like Hazelnut are recommended compared to Macadamia Nut. This is because the active ingredients Palmitic Acid and Lauric Acid in Macadamia Nut further promote the effects of genes on the biochemical pathways. While the active ingredients Vitamin E and Quercetin contained in Hazelnut together have a canceling effect of genes on the biochemical pathways.
RECOMMENDATION: HAZELNUT IS RECOMMENDED OVER MACADAMIA NUT FOR REDUCING THE GENETIC RISK OF ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA DUE TO GENES CALR AND BCOR
In Summary
An important thing to remember is that cancer treatments may not be the same for everyone – and neither should your nutrition be. Nutrition which includes food and nutritional supplements is a very effective tool controlled by you.
“What should I eat?” is the most frequently asked question in the context of cancer. The answer calculation is complex and depends upon cancer type, underlying genomics, current treatments, any allergies, lifestyle information, and factors like BMI.
The addon personalized nutrition plan recommends foods and supplements which minimizes adverse nutrition interactions and encourages support to treatments.
You can get started NOW and design a personalized nutrition plan for Essential Thrombocythemia by answering questions on type of cancer, current treatments, supplements, allergies, age group, gender, and lifestyle information.
What food you eat and which supplements you take is a decision you make. Your decision should include consideration of the cancer gene mutations, which cancer, ongoing treatments and supplements, any allergies, lifestyle information, weight, height and habits.
The nutrition planning for cancer from addon is not based on internet searches. It automates the decision making for you based on molecular science implemented by our scientists and software engineers. Irrespective of whether you care to understand the underlying biochemical molecular pathways or not - for nutrition planning for cancer that understanding is needed.
Get started NOW with your nutrition planning by answering questions on the name of cancer, genetic mutations, ongoing treatments and supplements, any allergies, habits, lifestyle, age group and gender.
References
- Pancan Pcawg 2020
- Genomic Classification and Prognosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
- Functional genomic landscape of acute myeloid leukaemia.
- Clinical and biological implications of driver mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes.
- The synergy of Vitamin C with decitabine activates TET2 in leukemic cells and significantly improves overall survival in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
- Paederia foetida induces anticancer activity by modulating chromatin modification enzymes and altering pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression in human prostate cancer cells.
- Functional lipidomics: Palmitic acid impairs hepatocellular carcinoma development by modulating membrane fluidity and glucose metabolism.
- Effects of folate deficiency on gene expression in the apoptosis and cancer pathways in colon cancer cells.
- Crystal structure of a human cyclin-dependent kinase 6 complex with a flavonol inhibitor, fisetin.
- Identification of ellagic acid as potent inhibitor of protein kinase CK2: a successful example of a virtual screening application.
- Brassinin inhibits STAT3 signaling pathway through modulation of PIAS-3 and SOCS-3 expression and sensitizes human lung cancer xenograft in nude mice to paclitaxel.
- Role of the lipid-regulated NF-κB/IL-6/STAT3 axis in alpha-naphthyl isothiocyanate-induced liver injury.
- Vitamin A regulates Akt signaling through the phospholipid fatty acid composition.
- Resveratrol, a remarkable inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase.
- Pelargonidin suppresses adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells through inhibition of PPAR-γ signaling pathway.
- Gamma- and delta-tocotrienols exert a more potent anticancer effect than alpha-tocopheryl succinate on breast cancer cell lines irrespective of HER-2/neu expression.
- Clinical pharmacodynamics of antihistamines.
- HyperFoods: Machine intelligent mapping of cancer-beating molecules in foods.
Personalized Nutrition for Cancer!
Cancer changes with time. Customize and modify your nutrition based on cancer indication, treatments, lifestyle, food preferences, allergies and other factors.