Creatine could boost our cancer fighters

Creatine has suddenly become the ‘go-to’ supplement.  It doesn’t only build muscles—it could even fight cancer.

It may strengthen one of the immune system’s most important cancer-fighting pathways by energizing dendritic cells that activate killer T cells, a new study has discovered.

The latest findings follow the results of another study, published just days earlier, that suggested that creatine could boost the brain, and even lift depression.

Its cancer-fighting qualities have been uncovered by a research team at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), who believe the supplement could boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy against cancer.

Immunotherapy has limited success: it’s designed to activate the body’s killer T cells, but it benefits only between 20 and 40 percent of cancer patients.  Taking creatine supplements at the same time could increase the therapy’s effectiveness, the researchers say.

They tested the supplement on mice by giving them daily creatine injections for melanoma; the therapy ‘significantly slowed’ tumor growth while increasing both the number and activity of dendritic cells that had entered tumors. The treated dendritic cells also released higher levels of chemical signals that attracted additional immune cells into the tumor.  The researchers found a similar response in human cancer cells.

Creatine could strengthen the immune system’s anti-cancer defences at multiple stages, beginning with the cells that detect cancer and initiate the body’s response, the researchers say.

What do you think? Start a conversation over on the... WDDTY Community