Is there a role for carbohydrate restriction in the treatment and prevention of cancer
TLDR
The possible beneficial effects of low CHO diets on cancer prevention and treatment are addressed, with emphasis on the role of insulin and IGF1 signaling in tumorigenesis as well as altered dietary needs of cancer patients.Abstract:
Over the last years, evidence has accumulated suggesting that by systematically reducing the amount of dietary carbohydrates (CHOs) one could suppress, or at least delay, the emergence of cancer, and that proliferation of already existing tumor cells could be slowed down. This hypothesis is supported by the association between modern chronic diseases like the metabolic syndrome and the risk of developing or dying from cancer. CHOs or glucose, to which more complex carbohydrates are ultimately digested, can have direct and indirect effects on tumor cell proliferation: first, contrary to normal cells, most malignant cells depend on steady glucose availability in the blood for their energy and biomass generating demands and are not able to metabolize significant amounts of fatty acids or ketone bodies due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Second, high insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels resulting from chronic ingestion of CHO-rich Western diet meals, can directly promote tumor cell proliferation via the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway. Third, ketone bodies that are elevated when insulin and blood glucose levels are low, have been found to negatively affect proliferation of different malignant cells in vitro or not to be usable by tumor cells for metabolic demands, and a multitude of mouse models have shown antitumorigenic properties of very low CHO ketogenic diets. In addition, many cancer patients exhibit an altered glucose metabolism characterized by insulin resistance and may profit from an increased protein and fat intake. In this review, we address the possible beneficial effects of low CHO diets on cancer prevention and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the role of insulin and IGF1 signaling in tumorigenesis as well as altered dietary needs of cancer patients.read more
Citations
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Halted Progression of Soft Palate Cancer in a Patient Treated with the Paleolithic Ketogenic Diet Alone: A 20-months Follow-up
Csaba D. Tóth,Zsófia Clemens +1 more
TL;DR: The paleolithic ketogenic diet resulted in a halted progression of the tumor as evidenced by imaging follow-up and the patient is on the diet for 20 months, without symptoms and side effects.
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Nutrient restriction of glucose or serum results in similar proteomic expression changes in 3D colon cancer cell cultures
TL;DR: The results indicate nutrient restriction causes lower apoptotic and higher autophagy rates in HCT 116 spheroids and specific proteins that have implications in cancer progression and metastasis that are differentially regulated by restriction of either glucose or serum.
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A ketogenic diet consumed during radiotherapy improves several aspects of quality of life and metabolic health in women with breast cancer.
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of KDs on quality of life and blood parameters in women with early-stage breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy were studied, and it was shown that women consuming a KD experienced significant improvements in emotional functioning, social functioning, sleep quality, future perspectives and systemic therapy side effects.
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Carbohydrate restriction ameliorates nephropathy by reducing oxidative stress and upregulating HIF-1α levels in type-1 diabetic rats
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that CR diet treatment in diabetic rats attenuated renal damage by reducing oxidative stress and preventing the development of hypoxia by up-regulating HIF-1α levels.
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Wilhelm Brünings' forgotten contribution to the metabolic treatment of cancer utilizing hypoglycemia and a very low carbohydrate (ketogenic) diet.
TL;DR: The life and forgotten work of one of the earliest researchers who realized the importance of altered tumor cell metabolism and its possible exploitation through metabolic modifications: Wilhelm Brünings is described.
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