Tumor Metabolism, the Ketogenic Diet and β-Hydroxybutyrate: Novel Approaches to Adjuvant Brain Tumor Therapy.

ABSTRACT: Malignant brain tumors are devastating despite aggressive treatments such as surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The average life expectancy of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma is approximately ~18 months. It is clear that increased survival of brain tumor patients requires the design of new therapeutic modalities, especially those that enhance currently available treatments and/or limit tumor growth. One novel therapeutic arena is the metabolic dysregulation that results in an increased need for glucose in tumor cells. This phenomenon suggests that a reduction in tumor growth could be achieved by decreasing glucose availability, which can be accomplished through pharmacological means or through the use of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD). The

SUBMITTER: Woolf EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5110522 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature