Foods for Salivary Duct Carcinoma!

Introduction

Foods for Salivary Duct Carcinoma should be personalized for each individual and also must adapt when cancer treatment or tumor genetic change. The personalization and adaptation must consider all the active ingredients or bioactives contained in different foods with respect to cancer tissue biology, genetics, treatments, lifestyle conditions and diet preferences. Hence while nutrition is one of the very important decisions for a cancer patient and individual at risk of cancer to make – how to choose foods to eat is not an easy task.

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC), a rare and aggressive malignancy originating primarily in the salivary glands, such as the parotid gland, presents distinct challenges in its management and treatment. The pathology outlines of salivary duct carcinoma provide crucial insights into its cellular characteristics, aiding in accurate diagnosis and staging. Symptoms often include a lump or swelling in the salivary gland area, pain, and sometimes facial nerve paralysis. Staging of the cancer, from early stages to advanced stage 4, is essential for determining the prognosis and tailoring treatment strategies. Metastatic salivary duct carcinoma, where the cancer has spread beyond its original site, poses additional treatment complexities. The ICD-10 code for salivary duct carcinoma ensures standardized reporting and treatment tracking. Treatment typically involves surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, with emerging targeted therapies such as HER2 inhibitors showing promise, especially in cases with HER2 overexpression. The prognosis and survival rates vary based on the stage at diagnosis and the cancer’s response to treatment. Salivary duct carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma represents a subtype where the cancer arises from a previously benign tumor, highlighting the need for careful monitoring of salivary gland tumors. Understanding the causes of salivary duct carcinoma, including genetic and environmental factors, is crucial for prevention and early detection. For in situ lesions, where the cancer is confined to its place of origin, the treatment approach may be more conservative but still requires diligent management.

For Salivary Duct Carcinoma does it matter what vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds one eats?

A very common nutrition question asked by cancer patients and individuals at-genetic risk of cancer is – for cancers like Salivary Duct Carcinoma does it matter what foods I eat and which I do not? Or if I follow a plant-based diet is that enough for cancer like Salivary Duct Carcinoma?

For example does it matter if vegetable New Zealand Spinach is consumed more compared to Allium? Does it make any difference if fruit Pummelo is preferred over Highbush Blueberry? Also if similar choices are made for nuts/seeds like Butternut over European Chestnut and for pulses like Gram Bean over Pigeon Pea. And if what I eat matters – then how does one identify foods which are recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma and is it the same answer for everyone with the same diagnosis or genetic risk?

Yes! Foods you eat matters for Salivary Duct Carcinoma!

Food recommendations may not be the same for everyone and can be different even for the same diagnosis and genetic risk.

All foods (vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, pulses, oils etc.) and nutritional supplements are made up of more than one active molecular ingredient or bio-actives in different proportions and quantities. Each active ingredient has a unique mechanism of action – which can be activation or inhibition of different biochemical pathways. Simply stated foods and supplements which are recommended are those which do not cause an increase of molecular drivers of cancer but reduce them. Else those foods should not be recommended. Foods contain multiple active ingredients – hence when evaluating foods and supplements you need to consider the impact of all active ingredients cumulatively rather than individually.

For example Pummelo contains active ingredients Curcumin, Naringenin, Hesperetin, Formononetin, Delphinidin. And Highbush Blueberry contains active ingredients Curcumin, Ellagic Acid, Cianidanol, Formononetin, Delphinidin and possibly others.

A common mistake made when deciding and choosing foods to eat for Salivary Duct Carcinoma – is to evaluate only selected active ingredients contained in foods and ignore the rest. Because different active ingredients contained in foods may have opposing effects on cancer drivers – you cannot cherry pick active ingredients in foods and supplements for making a nutrition decision for Salivary Duct Carcinoma.

YES – FOOD CHOICES MATTER FOR CANCER. NUTRITION DECISIONS MUST CONSIDER ALL ACTIVE INGREDIENTS OF FOODS.

Skills Needed for Nutrition Personalization for Salivary Duct Carcinoma?

Personalized nutrition for cancers like Salivary Duct Carcinoma consists of recommended foods / supplements; not recommended foods / supplements with example recipes which prioritize use of recommended foods. An example of personalized nutrition can be seen at this link.

Deciding which foods are recommended or not is extremely complicated, requiring expertise in Salivary Duct Carcinoma biology, food science, genetics, biochemistry along with good understanding of how cancer treatments work and associated vulnerabilities by which the treatments could stop being effective.

MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE EXPERTISE NEEDED FOR NUTRITION PERSONALIZATION FOR CANCER ARE: CANCER BIOLOGY, FOOD SCIENCE, CANCER TREATMENTS AND GENETICS.

Characteristics of cancers like Salivary Duct Carcinoma

All cancers like Salivary Duct Carcinoma can be characterized by a unique set of biochemical pathways – the signature pathways of Salivary Duct Carcinoma. Biochemical pathways like Adherens junction, Growth Factor Signaling, DNA Repair, MAPK Signaling are part of the signature definition of Salivary Duct Carcinoma. Each individual’s cancer genetics can be different and hence their specific cancer signature could be unique.

The treatments which are effective for Salivary Duct Carcinoma need to be cognizant of the associated signature biochemical pathways for each cancer patient and individual at genetic risk. Therefore different treatments with different mechanisms of actions are effective for different patients. Similarly and for the same reasons foods and supplements need to be personalized for each individual. Hence some foods and supplements are recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma when taking cancer treatment Cetuximab, and some foods and supplements are not recommended.

Sources like cBioPortal and many others provide population representative patient anonymized data from clinical trials for all cancer indications. This data consists of clinical trial study details like sample size / number of patients, age groups, gender, ethnicity, treatments, tumor site and any genetic mutations.

ARID1A, KDM5A, BRCA2, MAP2K4 and MST1R are the top ranked reported genes for Salivary Duct Carcinoma. ARID1A is reported in 16.7 % of the representative patients across all clinical trials. And KDM5A is reported in 16.7 %. The combined population patient data cover ages from 49 to 77. 45.8 % of the patient data are identified as men. The Salivary Duct Carcinoma biology along with reported genetics together define the population represented signature biochemical pathways for this cancer. If the individual cancer tumor genetics or genes contributing to the risk are also known then that should also be used for nutrition personalization.

NUTRITION CHOICES SHOULD MATCH WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL’S CANCER SIGNATURE.

Food and Supplements for Salivary Duct Carcinoma

For Cancer Patients

Cancer patients on treatment or on palliative care need to make decisions on food and supplements – for the needed dietary calories, for managing any treatment side effects and also for improved cancer management. All plant-based foods are not equal and choosing and prioritizing foods which are personalized and customized to ongoing cancer treatment is important and complicated. Here are some examples providing guidelines for making nutrition decisions.

Choose Vegetable NEW ZEALAND SPINACH or ALLIUM?

Vegetable New Zealand Spinach contains many active ingredients or bioactives such as Curcumin, Formononetin, Delphinidin, Apigenin, Eugenol. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, WNT Beta Catenin Signaling, MAPK Signaling and Adherens junction and others. New Zealand Spinach is recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma when ongoing cancer treatment is Cetuximab. This is because New Zealand Spinach modifies those biochemical pathways which have been scientifically reported to sensitize the effect of Cetuximab.

Some of the active ingredients or bioactives in vegetable Allium are Curcumin, Formononetin, Delphinidin, Eugenol, Linolenic Acid. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like WNT Beta Catenin Signaling, PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling and MYC Signaling and others. Allium is not recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma when ongoing cancer treatment is Cetuximab because it modifies those biochemical pathways which make the cancer treatment resistant or less responsive.

VEGETABLE NEW ZEALAND SPINACH IS RECOMMENDED OVER ALLIUM FOR Salivary Duct Carcinoma AND TREATMENT Cetuximab.

Choose Fruit HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY or PUMMELO?

Fruit Highbush Blueberry contains many active ingredients or bioactives such as Curcumin, Ellagic Acid, Cianidanol, Formononetin, Delphinidin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like Adherens junction, Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, Growth Factor Signaling and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling and others. Highbush Blueberry is recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma when ongoing cancer treatment is Cetuximab. This is because Highbush Blueberry modifies those biochemical pathways which have been scientifically reported to sensitize the effect of Cetuximab.

Some of the active ingredients or bioactives in fruit Pummelo are Curcumin, Naringenin, Hesperetin, Formononetin, Delphinidin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like WNT Beta Catenin Signaling and others. Pummelo is not recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma when ongoing cancer treatment is Cetuximab because it modifies those biochemical pathways which make the cancer treatment resistant or less responsive.

FRUIT HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY IS RECOMMENDED OVER PUMMELO FOR Salivary Duct Carcinoma AND TREATMENT Cetuximab.

Choose Nut BUTTERNUT or EUROPEAN CHESTNUT?

Butternut contains many active ingredients or bioactives such as Curcumin, Formononetin, Delphinidin, Juglone, Apigenin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, WNT Beta Catenin Signaling, MAPK Signaling and Adherens junction and others. Butternut is recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma when ongoing cancer treatment is Cetuximab. This is because Butternut modifies those biochemical pathways which have been scientifically reported to sensitize the effect of Cetuximab.

Some of the active ingredients or bioactives in European Chestnut are Curcumin, Ellagic Acid, Formononetin, Delphinidin, Apigenin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition and WNT Beta Catenin Signaling and others. European Chestnut is not recommended for Salivary Duct Carcinoma when ongoing cancer treatment is Cetuximab because it modifies those biochemical pathways which make the cancer treatment resistant or less responsive.

BUTTERNUT IS RECOMMENDED OVER EUROPEAN CHESTNUT FOR Salivary Duct Carcinoma AND TREATMENT Cetuximab.

For Individuals with Genetic Risk of Cancer

The question asked by individuals who have genetic risk of Salivary Duct Carcinoma or familial history is “What Should I Eat Differently from Before?” and how they should choose foods and supplements to manage risks of the disease. Since for cancer risk there is nothing actionable in terms of treatment – decisions of foods and supplements become important and one of the very few actionable things which can be done. All plant-based foods are not equal and based on identified genetics and pathway signature – the choices of food and supplements should be personalized.

Choose Vegetable GIANT BUTTERBUR or CHINESE BROCCOLI?

Vegetable Giant Butterbur contains many active ingredients or bioactives such as Curcumin, Apigenin, Lupeol, Daidzein, Lycopene. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, P53 Signaling, MAPK Signaling and MYC Signaling and others. Giant Butterbur is recommended for risk of Salivary Duct Carcinoma when associated genetic risk is ARID1A. This is because Giant Butterbur increases those biochemical pathways which counteract the signature drivers of it.

Some of the active ingredients or bioactives in vegetable Chinese Broccoli are Curcumin, Apigenin, Lupeol, Daidzein, Phloretin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like DNA Repair, Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition and MAPK Signaling and others. Chinese Broccoli is not recommended when risk of Salivary Duct Carcinoma when associated genetic risk is ARID1A because it increases the signature pathways of it.

VEGETABLE GIANT BUTTERBUR IS RECOMMENDED OVER CHINESE BROCCOLI FOR ARID1A GENETIC RISK OF CANCER.

Choose Fruit NANCE or STRAWBERRY GUAVA?

Fruit Nance contains many active ingredients or bioactives such as Curcumin, Apigenin, Lupeol, Daidzein, Phloretin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, P53 Signaling, MAPK Signaling and MYC Signaling and others. Nance is recommended for risk of Salivary Duct Carcinoma when associated genetic risk is ARID1A. This is because Nance increases those biochemical pathways which counteract the signature drivers of it.

Some of the active ingredients or bioactives in fruit Strawberry Guava are Curcumin, Apigenin, Quercetin, Lupeol, Daidzein. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like DNA Repair and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition and others. Strawberry Guava is not recommended when risk of Salivary Duct Carcinoma when associated genetic risk is ARID1A because it increases the signature pathways of it.

FRUIT NANCE IS RECOMMENDED OVER STRAWBERRY GUAVA FOR ARID1A GENETIC RISK OF CANCER.

Choose Nut COMMON WALNUT or CASHEW NUT?

Common Walnut contains many active ingredients or bioactives such as Curcumin, Quercetin, Lupeol, Daidzein, Phloretin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition, P53 Signaling, MAPK Signaling and MYC Signaling and others. Common Walnut is recommended for risk of Salivary Duct Carcinoma when associated genetic risk is ARID1A. This is because Common Walnut increases those biochemical pathways which counteract the signature drivers of it.

Some of the active ingredients or bioactives in Cashew Nut are Curcumin, Quercetin, Lupeol, Daidzein, Phloretin. These active ingredients manipulate various biochemical pathways like MAPK Signaling, DNA Repair and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling and others. Cashew Nut is not recommended when risk of Salivary Duct Carcinoma when associated genetic risk is ARID1A because it increases the signature pathways of it.

COMMON WALNUT IS RECOMMENDED OVER CASHEW NUT FOR ARID1A GENETIC RISK OF CANCER.

In Conclusion

Foods and Supplements chosen are important decisions for cancers like Salivary Duct Carcinoma. Salivary Duct Carcinoma patients and individuals with genetic-risk always have this question: “What foods and nutritional supplements are recommended for me and which are not?” There is a common belief which is a misconception that all plant-based foods could be beneficial or not but would not be harmful. Certain foods and supplements can interfere with cancer treatments or promote molecular pathway drivers of cancer.

There are different types of cancer indications like Salivary Duct Carcinoma, each with different tumor genetics with further genomic variations across each individual. Further every cancer treatment and chemotherapy has a unique mechanism of action. Each food like New Zealand Spinach contains various bioactives in different quantities, which have an impact on different and distinct sets of biochemical pathways. The definition of personalized nutrition is individualized food recommendations for the cancer indication, treatments, genetics, lifestyle and other factors. Nutrition personalization decisions for cancer require knowledge of cancer biology, food science and an understanding of different chemotherapy treatments. Finally when there are treatment changes or new genomics is identified – the nutrition personalization needs re-evaluation.

The addon nutrition personalization solution makes the decision making easy and removes all the guesswork in answering the question, “What foods should I choose or not choose for Salivary Duct Carcinoma?”. The addon multi-disciplinary team includes cancer physicians, clinical scientists, software engineers and data scientists.

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