A study conducted by researchers at the University of California San Francisco has uncovered that a ketogenic diet, when combined with certain cancer therapies, has the potential to block the development of pancreatic cancer in mice. The research, published in Nature, revealed that a high-fat diet used in conjunction with an experimental cancer treatment was able to starve cancer cells of the fuel they needed to grow, resulting in tumor shrinkage. This discovery suggests that a diet-drug combination could hold promise for treating cancer, although further research on humans is necessary to confirm these findings.
The study initially aimed to investigate how the body sustains itself during fasting, which can alter metabolism through a protein called eIF4E. The researchers found that eFT508, a new cancer drug currently in clinical trials, inhibits eIF4E and the ketogenic pathway, preventing fat metabolism. Combining eFT508 with a ketogenic diet in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer led to the starvation of cancer cells and shrinkage of tumors. This raises the potential for using a combination of diet and personalized therapies to treat various types of cancers beyond pancreatic cancer.
While the results of the study show promise, registered dietitian nutritionist Melanie Murphy Richter and surgical oncologist Anton Bilchik caution that further research is needed to determine the practicality and safety of applying these findings to cancer patients. Richter points out that adhering to a strict diet, especially during cancer treatment, can be challenging and may impact a patient’s quality of life. Bilchik stresses the importance of evaluating any novel ideas, such as using a ketogenic diet in cancer therapy, to avoid potentially negative impacts on the patient’s health.
Bilchik notes that pancreatic cancer is particularly deadly, and patients often experience significant weight loss due to factors such as loss of appetite or muscle breakdown. While the ketogenic diet may lead to weight loss and improved overall health, it could also exacerbate weight loss in pancreatic cancer patients, potentially compromising their immune system’s ability to fight the disease. Richter suggests that approaches like the Fasting Mimicking Diet, which restricts certain nutrients to activate the body’s natural cellular rejuvenation processes, could offer a less extreme alternative to a ketogenic diet during cancer treatment.
Richter emphasizes the importance of personalized medicine in targeting the metabolic vulnerabilities of different cancers. By tailoring treatments to specific weaknesses in cancer cells, researchers may develop more effective and potentially less toxic therapies. She envisions that the template used in the study could be adapted to target various cancers by exploiting their dependencies. Ultimately, the goal is to find ways to treat cancer that are both effective and manageable for patients, taking into account their individual health needs and circumstances.
