Jacquelyne Motta, Dr: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: The study aims to investigate the role of ketogenic diets as an adjunctive treatment in cancer therapy. It focuses on the metabolic changes in cancer cells, particularly the increased glycolytic metabolism, and how ketogenic diets can exploit these changes to enhance cancer treatment.
Methods: The study involved evaluating 100 dogs on a ketogenic diet consisting of 5% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and 75% fat. The diet's impact on fat metabolism, ketone body production (including acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate, and acetone), and overall glycemic control was monitored. Serum and urinary β-hydroxybutyrate levels were measured to assess adherence and effectiveness of the diet.
Results: The study confirmed the increased glucose consumption in cancer cells and its importance for tumor survival and metastasis. The ketogenic diet, by increasing oxidative stress within cancer cells, acted as an adjunctive cancer therapy. Patients on this diet showed a 40% higher survival rate than standard statistics and maintained quality of life.
Conclusions: Despite advances in oncology, many cancer patients still face poor prognosis and severe side effects from current treatments. Ketogenic diets offer a complementary approach that could be rapidly implemented to exploit inherent oxidative metabolic differences between cancerous and normal cells. This approach aims to improve standard therapeutic outcomes by selectively increasing metabolic stress in cancer cells, potentially reducing patient toxicity and enhancing therapeutic responses.
