Lifestyle Psychiatry Presents: Addressing Modifiable Risk Factors in Cancer-View Presentation

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Video Summary

Dr. Uri Shah, an oncologist and researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presented on the role of diet, metabolism, and the microbiome in cancer prevention, treatment, and survivorship, focusing on plasma cell disorders and multiple myeloma. She highlighted that modifiable lifestyle factors like obesity, diabetes, and dietary patterns significantly influence cancer risk, progression, immune function, and patient outcomes. Dr. Shah emphasized the low adherence to cancer prevention diets among patients and the unmet need for more specific dietary guidance from oncologists. Drawing from epidemiologic and clinical trial data, she detailed how plant-based, high-fiber diets improve microbiome diversity, reduce inflammation, aid weight management, and may slow cancer progression. Her pilot intervention providing plant-based meals to pre-cancer patients improved dietary adherence, quality of life, and biomarkers linked to better cancer outcomes, with some patients reducing medications. She contrasted plant-based diets with ketogenic diets, noting feasibility and long-term health concerns with the latter. Dr. Shah’s research also explores dietary impact on immune therapy efficacy and survivorship. She advocates for integrating lifestyle interventions into cancer care, citing challenges in changing clinical practice but noting increasing patient-driven demand and emerging supporting evidence, including recent trials showing exercise benefits equal to drugs in some cancers. Dr. Shah shared her personal journey as a cancer survivor turned researcher, underscoring the importance of multidisciplinary efforts to address lifestyle in oncology for both personal and planetary health.

Keywords

Dr. Uri Shah

oncology

cancer prevention

diet and metabolism

microbiome

plasma cell disorders

multiple myeloma

plant-based diet

lifestyle interventions