For Which Cancer Types Should I Avoid Cinnamon Supplement?

Highlights

Nutritional supplements and extracts like Cinnamon have benefits and are used by cancer patients and those at-genetic risk of cancer. There is limited or hardly any clinical data available for use of nutritional supplements and foods in cancer patients. Generating clinical evidence of efficacy for cancer through a randomized clinical trial is further infeasible due to variations in genetics and cancer chemotherapy treatments across cancer patients. Hence a different and new approach is needed to find out for which cancers you should not take Cinnamon supplement and why should not take them?

Is it okay to take Cinnamon extracts or supplements for all cancer indications and any chemotherapy treatment? A common belief but a myth is that everything natural can only be of benefit and do no harm. For example, the use of grapefruit with certain medications is not recommended. Another example is the use of spinach with some blood thinning medications can cause adverse interactions and hence to be avoided. For cancer, nutrition including plant-based foods and supplements can influence outcomes and hence an extremely important decision which needs to be made. Hence NIH-National Cancer Institute has a website for nutrition for cancer care for patients which are generalized recommendations and not personalized for cancer indication and treatments.

A frequently asked question by cancer patients and those at-risk is “What Foods and Nutritional Supplements could be beneficial over others for me?”. “Who should not take an extract or supplement and why?”. Generic guidelines like eating only plant-based-foods or avoiding all sugar or adopting a keto diet is a good start but not actionable and personalized enough.

To find answers to questions on extracts and nutritional supplements and foods requires knowledge of contained active ingredients; genetic mutation prevalence for cancer indication; understanding of underlying cancer biology; chemotherapy treatments and mechanism of actions of active ingredients.

Taking Cinnamon extracts or nutritional supplements may benefit Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer patients on Doxorubicin treatment over Buckthorn nutritional supplements. But Cinnamon supplements or Cinnamon extracts offer less benefit if on Radiation treatment for Primary Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma compared to Garlic. Similarly, taking nutritional supplements Cinnamon may benefit healthy individuals who are at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene JAK2 over Kava. But avoid nutritional supplements Cinnamon when at genetic risk of cancer due to mutation of gene VHL.

The takeaway being – cancer, genomics, treatments and other personalized factors will influence decision making to questions like: Are extracts or nutritional supplements Cinnamon beneficial and should not be taken? Why should Cinnamon be not taken? Who should not take Cinnamon? What are side effects of Cinnamon with Radiation chemotherapy? What are the benefits of Cinnamon for cancer? Can Cinnamon help fight cancer and so on.

Whenever there are changes in chemotherapy treatments or cancer tissue genetics – the nutrition may change and hence needs to be re-evaluated. Do consider factors like cancer indication, ongoing chemotherapy treatments and nutritional supplements, age, gender, weight, height, lifestyle and genetics for personalization of nutrition.

Brief Overview

Use of nutritional supplements – vitamins, herbs, minerals, probiotics, and other specialty categories are increasing. Supplements are high concentrations of active ingredients which are also found in different foods. Difference between supplements and foods being that foods contain more than one active ingredient at much lower concentrations. Every active ingredient in an extract or nutritional supplement or food has a unique mechanism of action which can influence nutrition decisions.

These are some example questions which nutrition planning should help answer for you. Should you take supplements Cinnamon? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene JAK2? Should you take it when at genetic risk of cancer for mutation of gene VHL? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma? Should you take it when diagnosed with Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer? Should you take it when on Doxorubicin treatment? Should you continue taking it if you change your treatment from Doxorubicin to Radiation? So a general explanation like – it is organic and plant-based or it increases immunity is not sufficient information for making a decision of use of Cinnamon extracts and nutritional supplements.

Cancer

Genetic variations across cancer patients can be different and hence no two cancers are alike. The improved availability of “personalized to genetics” chemotherapy treatments and cancer disease monitoring via blood and saliva have been significant factors to improve outcomes. The earlier the lifestyle and treatment intervention – the better the influence on outcome. Genetic testing has the potential to assess cancer risk and susceptibility early. But for at-risk individuals besides regular monitoring in most cases there are no therapeutic treatment intervention options available. After diagnosis with cancer such as Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer or Primary Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma, the treatments get personalized to tumor genomics and factors like staging of disease, age and gender. During cancer remission (after treatment cycle is complete) – monitoring is used for assessment of any relapse and accordingly decide on next steps. A large majority of cancer patients and those at-risk may take nutritional supplements like Cinnamon.

So the question is that are all genetic risks and cancer indications to be considered uniformly when making decisions on the use of Cinnamon extracts or nutritional supplements? Are the biochemical pathway implications of genetic risk for cancer due to mutation of gene JAK2 the same as due to mutation of gene VHL? Are the implications of Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer the same as Primary Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma? Is it one and the same if you are on treatment with Radiation or Doxorubicin?

Cinnamon – An Extract or Nutritional Supplement

Cinnamon is a well known spice which has been used for centuries by different countries across the globe. It is obtained from the inner bark of several tree species which are from the genus “Cinnamomum”. Following are the two commonly used species of Cinnamon:

• Ceylon cinnamon  (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
• Cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum aromaticum)

Cinnamon is considered to have medicinal values due to their strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. Some of the potential health benefits of Cinnamon includes :

• May help reduce cholesterol
• May help reduce infections
• May help reduce blood pressure
• May help lower sugar levels by enhancing insulin sensitivity
• May help reduce heart diseases
• May help reduce tooth decay and bad breath 

Cinnamon supplements contain many active ingredients including Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Palmitic Acid, Linalool and Eugenol at different concentration levels. The molecular pathways which are regulated by Cinnamon include Cell Cycle Checkpoints, TGFB Signaling, Angiogenesis and Hematopoiesis. These biochemical pathways directly or indirectly regulate specific cancer molecular endpoints like growth, spread and death of cancer cells. Because of this biological regulation – for cancer nutrition, the right choice of supplements like Cinnamon individually or in combination is an important decision to be made. When making decisions on the use of supplement Cinnamon over other nutritional supplements – do consider all these factors.

Who Should not take Cinnamon Supplements and Why?

There is no easy way to answer the question “For which cancers should I not chooseCinnamon nutritional supplements”. Just like the same chemotherapy treatment does not work across patients, for similar reasons Cinnamon in comparison with other nutritional supplements may be beneficial or not. Along with which cancer and associated genetics – the ongoing treatments, lifestyle habits, height, weight and food allergies are all factors in deciding if Cinnamon should be avoided or not and why.

1. Will Cinnamon Supplements benefit Primary Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma patients undergoing Radiation treatment?

Primary Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like PBRM1, ATRX and PIK3C2G leading to biochemical pathway changes in TGFB Signaling and Inositol Phosphate Signaling. A cancer treatment like Radiation works through a specific pathway mechanism of action. The goal is to have a good overlap between the treatment and cancer driving pathways for a personalized approach which is effective. In such a condition any food or nutritional supplement which has a contrary effect to the treatment or reduces the overlap should be avoided. As an example, Cinnamon supplement should not be taken for Primary Sclerosing Epithelioid Fibrosarcoma along with treatment Radiation. Cinnamon supplement impacts the biochemical pathway called TGFB Signaling which either promotes drivers of the disease and/or nullifies the treatment effect. Some of the factors which should be considered when choosing nutrition are type of cancer, treatments and supplements being taken currently (if any

2. Will Cinnamon Supplements benefit Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer Patients undergoing Doxorubicin Treatment?

Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer is characterized and driven by specific genetic mutations like TERT, TP53 and BCL2L1 leading to biochemical pathway changes in Cell Cycle Checkpoints, Apoptosis, Autophagy and PI3K-AKT-MTOR Signaling. A cancer treatment like Doxorubicin works through specific pathway mechanisms. The goal is to have a good overlap between the treatment and cancer driving pathways for a personalized approach. In such a condition any food or nutritional supplement which supports treatment action or improves the overlap should be considered. As an example, Cinnamon supplements should be considered for Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer along with the treatment Doxorubicin. Cinnamon supplement impacts pathways/processes like Cell Cycle Checkpoints which either obstruct drivers of Primary Small Cell Bladder Cancer and/or improve Doxorubicin treatment effect.

3. What about Cinnamon Supplements for Healthy Individuals with VHL Mutation associated Genetic Risk?

Different companies offer panels of genes to be tested for assessing genetic risk to different cancers. These panels cover genes associated with cancers of the breast, ovary, uterus, prostate, and gastrointestinal system and others. Genetic testing of these genes may confirm a diagnosis and help guide treatment and management decisions. Identification of a disease-causing variant may also guide testing and diagnosis of at-risk relatives. VHL is one of the genes generally available in panels for cancer risk testing.

VHL mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like Angiogenesis and Hypoxia to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Cinnamon should not be taken when the genetic panel identifies mutation of VHL for Kidney Cancer. Cinnamon impacts pathways/processes like Angiogenesis and creates adverse conditions with VHL.

4. What about Cinnamon Supplements for Healthy Individuals with JAK2 Mutation associated Genetic Risk?

JAK2 is one of the genes available in panels for cancer risk testing. JAK2 mutation causes biochemical pathways/processes like Hematopoiesis, Cytokine Signaling, JAK-STAT Signaling and Immune Checkpoints to get impacted. These pathways are direct or indirect drivers of cancer molecular endpoints. Cinnamon supplements may be considered when the genetic panel identifies mutations in JAK2 for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms. Cinnamon impacts pathways/processes like Hematopoiesis and creates a canceling effect in those individuals with JAK2 mutation.

* Other Factors are also included like BMI, Treatments, Lifestyle Habits

In Conclusion

It is important to remember that cancer chemotherapy treatments and nutrition are never the same for everyone. Food and nutritional supplements like Cinnamon are chosen by you and can influence outcomes.

“What should I eat?” is a commonly asked question by cancer patients and those at-risk. The answer to this question depends on cancer indication, underlying genetics, current chemotherapy treatments, food allergies, lifestyle information, and food preferences.

The addon.life approach to nutrition personalization uses knowledge of active ingredients contained in foods and nutritional supplements, cancer biology, chemotherapy treatment action and genetic mutation prevalence across cancer indications. addon.life team of clinicians, clinical scientists and engineers are experts in cancer biology focusing only on nutrition personalization for cancer patients and those at-risk.

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

• Eugenol induces apoptosis and inhibits invasion and angiogenesis in a rat model of gastric carcinogenesis induced by MNNG.
• The preventive effect of linalool on acute and chronic UVB-mediated skin carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice.
• Mutational landscape of metastatic cancer revealed from prospective clinical sequencing of 10,000 patients.
• Eugenol triggers apoptosis in breast cancer cells through E2F1/survivin down-regulation.
• Resistance of p53 knockout cells to doxorubicin is related to reduced formation of DNA strand breaks rather than impaired apoptotic signaling.
• Radio resistance in breast cancer cells is mediated through TGF-β signalling, hybrid epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype and cancer stem cells.
• cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics
• Integrative clinical genomics of metastatic cancer.