Cancer cells multiply very fast. For this they needs a lot of energy. This energy requirement is fulfilled by a rapid growth of blood vessels in these tumours and increased blood flow, which brings with it the energy source glucose to the rapidly dividing tumour cells.
Higher consumption of sugar is associated with various medical conditions including obesity. Recent research has shown that obesity increases the risk of many cancers like breast cancer, cancer of the uterus, large intestines, pancreas and others. There are various pathways which are involved in this, like insulin resistance. Various studies have uncovered the role that IGF play in cancers like breast and prostate.
A novel pathway of cell death has been demonstrated by researchers from Duke NUS Medical School, which has been published in Science Signaling. The depletion of sugar level in few cancer cell types was associated with changes in the voltage across the cell membrane, which lead to a sudden influx of calcium into the cell leading to its death. It is important to understand here that this cell death is not a result of starvation caused by deprivation of glucose but due to the influx of calcium ions leading to a complex and novel pathway of cell death mediated by RIPK1, which is unlike the ones previously known. As of now, there is not enough evidence to directly link sugar starvation to cancer cell death but there is evidence that increased intake of sugar is linked to obesity, which is associated with higher risk of cancer. It is a prudent choice to limit your intake of sugar to stay away from many diseases like Diabetes and cancer.