The current webpage is designed to make additional research available concerning how certain fruits or their major bioactive components can act as cisplatin sensitizers or protect against its toxic side effects. At the bottom of this webpage are links to studies relating to the beneficial fruits listed in Foods to eat and avoid during cisplatin.
Fruit consumption heightens the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin on breast cancer cells or protects from its toxic side effects mainly through the actions of various phytonutrients, among them:
as well as melatonin (cherries, especially sour or tart).
Fruit phytonutrients should be obtained by eating whole fruit rather than taking supplements. Some beneficial compounds have been shown to have a U-shaped efficacy curve in cell or animal studies. In other words, a deficiency in the compound appears to promote breast cancer, but so does a relatively high dose. However, the sweet spot of maximum benefit at the bottom of the curve is not established for human beings. In any case, when a beneficial micronutrient is administered at low doses by consuming food, it is likely to have subtle chemopreventive effects, whereas the same compound administered at high doses is more likely to have pharmacological effects, with possible unwanted outcomes.