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Review
. 2025 Aug 29;17(17):2813.
doi: 10.3390/nu17172813.

Amino Acids Supplementation in Cancer: What Do We Feed, the Patient or the Tumor?

Giovanni Corsetti  1 , Evasio Pasini  1   2 , Claudia Romano  1 , Francesco S Dioguardi  3
Affiliations
Review

Amino Acids Supplementation in Cancer: What Do We Feed, the Patient or the Tumor?

Giovanni Corsetti et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Diet and obesity contribute to approximately 50% of tumor development. Therefore, nutrition plays a key role not only in cancer prevention but also in determining prognosis. Notably, between 30% and 90% of cancer patients experience malnutrition. Furthermore, the hypercatabolic state induced by tumors leads to widespread protein degradation, clinically manifesting as sarcopenia or cachexia, and ultimately accelerating mortality. This narrative review examines the potential role of amino acids (AAs) in inhibiting tumor growth and counteracting protein-energy malnutrition-aiming to preserve muscle mass and nourish healthy cells while placing neoplastic cells in a state of metabolic stress.

Methods: The analysis was conducted following the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines.

Results: Administration of targeted mixtures of essential amino acids (EAAs) has been shown to improve muscle mass, strength, and quality of life in patients with hypercatabolic conditions. Experimental in vitro and in vivo studies also suggest a potential inhibitory effect on tumor proliferation. However, increased availability of certain AAs may, in some cases, stimulate tumor growth, one reason why EAAs supplementation in cancer patients remains controversial.

Conclusions: Despite prevailing concerns, emerging evidence indicates that supplementation with a complete, well-balanced EAAs formulation may be a valuable adjunct to standard cancer therapies. This approach could help correct cancer-associated protein imbalances, enhance patients' quality of life, and create a metabolic environment unfavorable to tumor progression.

Keywords: amino acids; cancer; food integration; mTOR; malnutrition; sarcopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

F.S.D. was employed by Nutri-Research s.r.l. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the dual effects of leucine on tumor progression.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic summary of opposing outcomes driven by excess non-essential (NEAAs) versus essential amino acids (EAAs) in cancer and healthy cells. NEAAs promote tumor progression through metabolic support and tumor microenvironment (TME, delimited by the dotted line) remodeling, whereas EAAs induce selective cancer cell death while preserving and enhancing normal cell viability and function. ME = microenvironment. ER = endoplasmic reticulum. TCA = tricarboxylic acid cycle. ATP = Adenosine triphosphate. ROS = Reactive oxygen species. SOD = Super oxide dismutase. mTOR = mammalian target of rapamycin. Immune cells: T = T-lymphocytes, NK = Natural-killer-lymphocytes. Arrow yellow: up = increase, down = decrease.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of the link between EAAs availability, ATP production, and mTOR activation. ATP, ADP, AMP = adenosine tri-, di-, and monophosphate. AMPK = AMP-activated protein kinase. mTORC1 = mammalian target of rapamycin subunit 1. The blue arrows indicated the anabolic pathway, the red ones the catabolic pathway. Black arrow up = increase. Black arrow down = decrease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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