Scientists at UC San Francisco have made a groundbreaking discovery that combining a high-fat ketogenic diet with an existing cancer drug can eliminate pancreatic cancer in mice. The research, published in the journal Nature, found that fasting and a ketogenic diet activate a protein called eIF4E, which blocks the body’s ability to metabolize fat, effectively cutting off energy supply to cancer cells.
The team led by Dr. Davide Ruggero discovered that when an animal is on a ketogenic diet or during fasting, eIF4E changes the body’s metabolism to switch to fat consumption. This same switch also occurs in pancreatic cancer cells, making them more susceptible to the existing cancer drug eFT508. When the scientists combined the drug with a ketogenic diet in an animal model of pancreatic cancer, the cancer cells starved.
The study reveals that fasting and a ketogenic diet can be used to precisely eliminate a type of cancer by targeting its energy source. The researchers believe that this discovery opens up a new point of vulnerability that can be treated with clinical inhibitors, such as eFT508, which is already in clinical trials.
This finding has significant implications for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and other forms of cancer, suggesting that diet may play a crucial role in cancer therapy. While more research is needed, this study provides a promising new approach to treating cancer using personalized therapies and dietary interventions.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/keto-diet-reveals-a-new-way-to-starve-deadly-cancer-cells