Cancer treatment could be less effective if patients consume popular sweetener

Sucralose, a sweetener found in many diet sodas, low-calorie snacks and powdered sugar substitutes, could interfere with immunotherapy in cancer patients, according to research from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

All patients were taking anti-PD1 (a type of immunotherapy), either alone or in combination with chemotherapy. 

"We found that sucralose impeded the effectiveness of immunotherapies across a range of cancer types, stages and treatment modalities," said senior author Diwakar Davar, associate professor of medicine at Pitt and a medical oncologist and hematologist at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, in the release.

The findings were published in Cancer Discovery, a journal by the American Association for Cancer Research.

"We need to meet patients where they are. That's why it's so exciting that arginine supplementation could be a simple approach to counteract the negative effects of sucralose on immunotherapy."

"When arginine levels were depleted due to sucralose-driven shifts in the microbiome, T cells couldn't function properly," said Overacre. "As a result, immunotherapy wasn't as effective in mice that were fed sucralose." 

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and Gateway for Cancer Research.

The Calorie Control Council provided the below statement to Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to manufacturers of sucralose-containing products requesting comment.