THE ESSENTIAL
- Reducing glucose in patients’ pancreatic cancer cells would enhance the effects of chemotherapy.
- Clinical trials will be conducted in the United States to confirm the effectiveness of this therapeutic approach.
Renowned for its slimming properties, the ketogenic diet consists of drastically reducing the carbohydrate intake in your diet, in favor of lipids. But according to new research published in the journal Cell, it could also make chemotherapy drugs, prescribed in the management of pancreatic cancer, more effective. Led by American researchers from Princeton University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute, the study demonstrates that adopting a ketogenic diet can lower glucose levels in pancreatic cancer cells. Following this diet would also have the effect of strengthening the ability of the immune system to naturally defend itself against cancer.
Three times more effective effects thanks to the ketogenic diet
To achieve these results, the authors of the work carried out initial laboratory tests on mouse models. “This diet-induced change translates to increased susceptibility of tumors to chemotherapy, with the ketogenic diet roughly tripling the survival benefits of chemotherapy alone”say the scientists.
Thus, the idea would be, in addition to chemotherapy, to prescribe a ketogenic diet to patients with pancreatic cancer. Randomized clinical trials at five different sites in the United States have been carried out since the end of 2020 to confirm or refute the effectiveness of this therapeutic method. Patients are assigned randomly. Some receive chemotherapy while following a standard diet, while others adopt a ketogenic diet and benefit from chemotherapy. Testing is expected to continue until June 2023.