Study Reveals How High-Fat Diets Fuel Spread of Cancer
- June 03, 2025
Story at-a-glance
- A high-fat diet makes it easier for breast cancer to spread by activating clotting cells, increasing inflammation and altering blood vessels in ways that help tumors grow
- Mice on high-fat diets had nearly five times more cancer cells in their lungs, even when their tumors were the same size as leaner mice
- A high-fat diet increased fibronectin, which acts as "molecular glue" helping cancer cells attach to blood vessels, while obesity increases inflammatory compounds that worsen this buildup
- Switching to a normal-fat diet for just seven days significantly reduced clotting activity, fibronectin buildup and the number of cancer cells lodging in the lungs
- Eliminating vegetable oils and reducing total fat intake to 30% to 40% of daily calories lowers inflammation and reduces your risk of cancer spread
Metastatic breast cancer is the stage where the disease becomes deadly — not because of the original tumor, but because cancer cells travel and take root in distant organs. Most women aren't warned about the silent changes in their body that make this spread more likely. Fewer still are told that what they eat is among the most powerful influences.
Your bloodstream, immune system and fat metabolism don't operate in isolation; they constantly communicate. And when that communication goes wrong, it opens the door to more aggressive disease. For women with triple-negative breast cancer, this connection is especially urgent.
This form of cancer moves fast, resists conventional treatments and often returns with little warning. What's missing from the conversation is how quickly your internal environment shifts in response to food. That shift doesn't just affect weight or cholesterol.
It alters how your blood clots, how your vessels behave and how likely it is that stray cancer cells will survive the journey from one organ to another. That's what new research from the Spanish National Cancer Research Center set out to investigate.1 Their findings reveal a mechanism that's as alarming as it is actionable — and it all starts with what's on your plate.
High-Fat Diets Create the Perfect Environment for Breast Cancer to Spread
A study published in Nature Communications explored how a high-fat diet sets the stage for breast cancer to spread, focusing on triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive subtypes.2 Researchers tracked how dietary fat altered the body's internal environment in mice, leading to the formation of what they call "pre-metastatic niches" — places where cancer cells are more likely to settle and thrive.
• Researchers looked at the link between obesity, diet and aggressive breast cancer outcomes — Researchers fed mice a diet where 60% of calories came from fat. Compared to mice on normal diets, these animals showed a triple threat: stickier blood, more of a glue-like protein called fibronectin and leakier blood vessels in their lungs. Together, these changes created a perfect storm that made it easier for cancer cells to travel and take hold.
• Mice on high-fat diets had far more cancer cells settle in their lungs — The high-fat diet didn't just grow tumors faster, it made them more mobile. Even when tumor sizes were the same, mice on the high-fat diet had nearly five times more cancer cells in their lungs than leaner mice. Most of those cells were isolated, single cells — meaning they were freshly arrived and in the early stages of forming new tumors.
• High-fat diets made blood-clotting cells more sticky and aggressive — Platelets, which normally help stop bleeding, became hyperactive. They released more clotting chemicals, changed shape to form more projections and started binding not just to injured tissue but to tumor cells and blood vessel walls. These platelets acted like bodyguards for cancer, helping it move and survive in places it shouldn't.
• Tumor cells stuck more easily to blood vessels in mice fed high-fat diets — In the lungs of high-fat diet mice, tumor cells had an easier time attaching to blood vessel walls. Platelets helped cancer cells slip between the vessel lining and surrounding tissue, making it easier for tumors to seed new areas. This process was significantly higher in the high-fat group.
Cancer Gets a Boost When Your Blood Gets Sticky
Fibronectin, a sticky protein that acts like molecular glue, was found in far higher amounts in the lungs and platelets of mice on a high-fat diet. It made it easier for cancer cells to latch on and stay in place. Platelets not only carried more fibronectin but also took it up and released it with greater efficiency, concentrating it right where cancer cells were arriving.
• Fat cells in obese animals secreted high levels of a compound that worsened fibronectin buildup — The animals' fat tissue pumped out more of an inflammatory chemical that made platelets release even more fibronectin.
• A one-week switch to a healthier diet was enough to reverse many of these changes — When mice were taken off the high-fat diet for just seven days, platelet activity dropped, fibronectin levels normalized and cancer cells were half as likely to stick to lung tissue. This means your diet doesn't just impact long-term risk; it influences cancer behavior right now.
• Women whose blood clotted faster had cancer come back sooner — In a group of 82 women with triple-negative breast cancer, those with faster clotting times had a relapse nearly 3.5 years earlier than those whose blood clotted more slowly. This faster clotting, measured by a simple blood test, was linked to the same clotting cell activity and sticky protein buildup seen in the high-fat diet mice.
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If you've been eating a high-fat diet, especially one high in vegetable oils, your body is already creating the conditions that help cancer spread. But this isn't just about fat. It's about the kind of fat, the ratio of carbs to fat and how those fats alter your blood and tissues. The good news? It's simple to stop this cascade, and fast.
The study showed that within just one week of dietary change, harmful platelet activity and fibronectin buildup dropped significantly. That means what you eat today influences your risk tomorrow. If you're someone who's already had breast cancer, has a family history of it or just wants to reduce your cancer risk, I strongly recommend taking these five steps.
1. Shift your macronutrient balance — more carbs, less fat — A high-fat diet, defined in the study as 60% of daily calories from fat, disrupts how your body burns glucose and instead forces it to rely on fat for energy. That imbalance drives cancer spread.
I now recommend keeping fat intake between 30% and 40% of your daily calories. That means prioritizing healthy, digestible carbs like whole fruit, cooked root vegetables, white rice and small amounts of well-tolerated whole grains, as long as your gut is healthy and you tolerate them.
2. Eliminate vegetable oils from your diet — The real problem isn't just fat. It's linoleic acid (LA), a polyunsaturated fat found in vegetable oil and nearly every processed and restaurant food. High LA intake disrupts mitochondrial function, weakens your immune system and triggers clotting factors that directly contribute to cancer spread. Your goal is to get your total LA intake under 5 grams per day — ideally under 2 grams.
To do this, eliminate canola, corn, soybean, safflower, sunflower and grapeseed oil. Use grass fed butter, ghee or tallow instead. Even olive and avocado oil should be used sparingly, as they are often cut with cheaper vegetable oils and contain high amounts of monounsaturated fat, which causes similar mitochondrial stress.
3. Track what you eat — and what's in it — You're probably eating more LA than you think. Use a nutrition tracking app and enter your typical daily foods. Then look at the grams of LA. That's your baseline. From there, reduce high-LA foods and swap them for options with better fat profiles. For example, instead of sautéing vegetables in canola oil, cook them with ghee. Instead of store-bought salad dressing, use lemon juice and grass fed butter.
4. Get serious about inflammation — The research showed that fat tissue in obese mice released high levels of a powerful inflammatory chemical that triggered fibronectin buildup in platelets. That means excess body fat actively fuels the environment for cancer to spread.
If you're carrying extra weight, especially around your midsection, focus on gentle daily movement like walking, increasing your carb intake from healthy sources and reducing inflammatory triggers. This isn't about crash diets. It's about restoring balance in your metabolism so your body functions optimally.
You're not powerless. You're not stuck with the biology your last meal created. Your body reacts quickly — and decisively — to every change you make. The sooner you start, the faster you turn off the switch that tells cancer it's welcome to spread.
FAQs About High-Fat Diets and Cancer
Q: How does a high-fat diet increase the risk of cancer spreading?
A: A high-fat diet triggers a series of changes in your body that support cancer spread. It activates clotting cells, increases vascular leakiness in your lungs and boosts fibronectin, a sticky protein that helps cancer cells latch onto blood vessels and form new tumors. These changes make it easier for cancer cells to survive and spread throughout your body.
Q: What role do platelets play in cancer progression?
A: Platelets, which normally help your blood clot after injury, become hyperactive on a high-fat diet. They start sticking to cancer cells and blood vessel walls, shielding tumor cells from immune attack and creating landing zones where they thrive. This interaction allows cancer cells to attach, migrate through blood vessel walls and take root in new tissues.
Q: Can changing your diet really make a difference?
A: Yes. The research showed that mice who switched from a high-fat diet to a normal-fat diet for just seven days had significantly less clotting cell activity and fibronectin buildup. This quick dietary change also lowered the number of cancer cells settling in their lungs, showing that your body begins to heal almost immediately when you remove the dietary trigger.
Q: Why are vegetable oils especially harmful when it comes to cancer spread?
A: Vegetable oils like soybean, corn, safflower, sunflower and canola are high in LA, a polyunsaturated fat that disrupts mitochondrial function, drives inflammation and triggers abnormal clotting responses. High LA intake builds up in your tissues over time, making your internal environment more favorable for cancer growth and spread.
Q: What are the most effective steps I can take to lower my risk right now?
A: Start by reducing your total fat intake to 30% to 40% of daily calories, eliminate vegetable oils and increase your intake of healthy, digestible carbohydrates like fruit, white rice and root vegetables. Use a nutrition tracker to monitor your LA intake and aim for under 5 grams per day — ideally under 2. Even short-term changes make a measurable impact on the biological processes that support cancer spread.
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