LOS ANGELES — Taken as a metabolism pick-up by athletes and bodybuilders, creatine has of late seen increasing uptake outside the gym, as awareness grows of its potential as an anti-inflammatory and even as a cognitive aid.

But if research carried out at the University of California Los Angeles is anything to go by, creatine could soon also play a role in the fight against cancer.

Creatine “supercharges a critical class of immune cells that activate and prepare the body’s key cancer-fighters,” UCLA said, announcing new research in early June.

In tests on mice, the team found that creatine is key to the functioning of dendritic cells, which orchestrate “killer T cells” into tackling cancer.

Adding creatine “slowed tumor growth significantly and increased the number and activation of dendritic cells,” the researchers found, adding that the effect was seen also in human cells sampled and tested in a laboratory dish.

Published in the Cell Press journal iScience, the findings "uncover a previously unrecognized role for creatine metabolism." including "potential applications in dendritic cell-based cancer vaccines" and as a "complement to existing immunotherapies."

Creatine is a "promising supplement to holistically support the immune response that modern immunotherapies depend on," said UCLA scientist Lili Yang, whose team aims to work with other doctors on clinical trials "to test whether creatine supplementation improves outcomes in patients receiving immunotherapy."

Creatine, sometimes erroneously perceived as a kind of steroid or muscle-building elixir, is generated in the liver, kidneys and pancreas from amino acids before being carried through the bloodstream to muscles where it helps generate additional energy.

Although often taken as a pill or powder supplement, creatine also occurs naturally in protein sources such as meat and seafood.

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