The ketogenic diet consists of high fat and low carbohydrate intake, with the aim of stimulating the formation of ketone bodies. Studies have shown its effectiveness in treating children with epilepsy and could help in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
This diet manages to increase blood ketone body levels and decreases circulating glucose levels, having been observed in studies to produce reductions in brain tumors
Research on tumor metabolism in recent years has shown that brain tumors use glucose as their sole source of energy and that high blood glucose levels correlate with poorer survival.
Other studies have shown that the higher the blood glucose levels, the faster the brain tumor grows.
These studies have highlighted the role of the ketogenic diet in the treatment of brain tumors, especially in glioblastoma multiforme.
When there is not enough glucose available in the blood, the liver converts fat into ketone bodies. If the brain does not have sufficient glucose levels, it can use ketone bodies but brain tumor cells cannot use ketone bodies as an energy source.
Ketone bodies have been shown to decrease free radicals and improve the metabolism of healthy cells..
Ketone bodies stress brain tumor cells, while aiding the metabolism of healthy cells. They reduce the formation of new blood vessels in the tumor area, reduce inflammation, decrease edema, and decrease tumor cell migration and invasion.
Scientific studies on ketogenic diet and brain tumor
- Phillips MC et al (2024). Ketogenic metabolic therapy in conjunction with standard treatment for glioblastoma: A case report. Oncol Lett. 2024 Mar 26;27(5):230. doi: 10.3892/ol.2024.14363. PMID: 38586213; PMCID: PMC10996027.
- Schwartz KA, Noel M, Nikolai M, Olson LK et al. (2022). Long Term Survivals in Aggressive Primary Brain Malignancies Treated With an Adjuvant Ketogenic Diet. Front Nutr. 2022 May 3;9:770796. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.770796. PMID: 35592625; PMCID: PMC9112915.
- Van der Louw EJTM et al. (2019) Ketogenic diet treatment as adjuvant to standard treatment of glioblastoma multiforme: a feasibility and safety study. Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology. DOI: 10.1177/1758835919853958.
- Woolf, Eric & Syed, Nelofer. (2016). Tumor Metabolism, the Ketogenic Diet and β-Hydroxybutyrate: Novel Approaches to Adjuvant Brain Tumor Therapy. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. 9. 10.3389/fnmol.2016.00122.
- Schwartz, K., Chang, H.T., Nikolai, M. et al. (2015) Treatment of glioma patients with ketogenic diets: report of two cases treated with an IRB-approved energy-restricted ketogenic diet protocol and review of the literature. Cancer Metab 3, 3. doi.org/10.1186/s40170-015-0129-1
- Flores, Roberto & Poff, Angela et al. (2014). Metabolic Therapy: A New Paradigm for Managing Malignant Brain Cancer. Cancer letters. 356. 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.07.015.
