Dietary patterns and the neoplastic-prone tissue landscape of old age

Abstract

There is now sufficient evidence to indicate that aging is associated with the emergence of a clonogenic and neoplastic-prone tissue landscape, which fuels early stages of cancer development and helps explaining the rise in cancer incidence and mortality in older individuals. Dietary interventions are among the most effective approaches to delay aging and age-related diseases, including cancer. Reduced caloric intake has been, historically, the most intensely investigated strategy. Recent findings point to a critical role of a long fasting interval in mediating some of the beneficial effects of caloric restriction. Time-restricted feeding, intermittent fasting, and fasting mimicking diets are being proposed for their potential to prolong healthy life span and to delay late-onset diseases such as neoplasia. Evidence will be discussed suggesting that the effects of these dietary regimens are mediated, at least in part, through retardation of age-related functional changes at cell and tissue level, including a delay in the emergence of the neoplastic-prone tissue microenvironment.