The effectiveness of whey proteins in prevention and treatment of cancer: a review

Abstract

Cancer prevalence is rising rapidly around the globe, contributing immensely to the burden on health systems, hence the search for more effective and selective treatments still remains enticing. Whey, as a natural source, has received extensive focus in recent years because of its intriguing applications to health benefits. Growing consumer appreciation of the nutraceutical effects of whey components makes them an attractive field within cancer research. Whey is a valuable source of superior-quality proteins, lactose, vitamins, and minerals that contribute to proper nutrition as well as help hamper illness and even complement certain disease-related therapy prognosis. As a result, industry leaders and dairy producers are devising new ways to valorize it. Great emphasis on cancer prevention and treatment has been given to whey protein (WP) by the scientific community. WP intake has been proven to induce anti-cancer effects in various in vitro and in vivo studies. Nutritionists and dietitians are now enormously endorsing the role of WP in the therapeutic field, notably for cancer cachexia management. However, human intervention studies with WP are in their infancy and remain to be established with different tumor entities to provide valid proof of its ability to act as a coadjuvant in cancer treatment.

Keywords:

• Dairy
• muscle protein
• cachexia
• nutraceuticals
• therapeutics
• supplements

Acknowledgements

The principal author acknowledges the financial support from Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research, Kolar, Karnataka, India, for the execution of research work and also the service of BioRender.com, for assistance in drawing the diagram of mechanism of action of whey proteins.

Disclosure statement

Authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.