Novel Therapy Effectively Destroys Brain Tumor Cells

Brain cancer researchers have effectively treated brain tumor cells using a unique combination of diet and radiation therapy.

Led by Adrienne C. Scheck, PhD, principal investigator from the neurooncology and neurosurgery research department at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center (Phoenix, AZ, USA), the cutting-edge research assessed the effects of the ketogenic diet combined with radiation therapy for the treatment of malignant gliomas, an aggressive and lethal type of brain tumor. The ketogenic diet is a high fat, low-carbohydrate diet that changes metabolism and is utilized in the treatment of pediatric epilepsy that does not respond to traditional treatments. The diet’s effects on brain homeostasis also have possibilities for the treatment of other neurologic disorders.

In the study, mice with high-level malignant gliomas were sustained on either a standard or a ketogenic diet. Both groups received radiation therapy. The researchers found that the lab mice fed a ketogenic diet had an increased median survival of approximately five days compared to animals maintained on a standard diet. Of the mice that were fed a ketogenic diet and received radiation, 9 of 11 survived with no evidence of tumor recurrence, even after being changed back to standard food, for over 200 days. None on the standard diet survived more than 33 days.

One hypothesis behind the effectiveness of the treatment is that the ketogenic diet may reduce growth factor stimulation, blocking tumor growth. Barrow scientists also believe that it may suppress inflammation and edema surrounding the tumors. This is thought to be the first study of its type to look at the effects of the ketogenic diet with radiation.

Dr. Scheck believes that the study has encouraging implications in the treatment of human malignant gliomas. “We found that the ketogenic diet significantly enhances the antitumor effect of radiation, which suggests that it may be useful as an adjuvant to the current standard of care for the treatment of human malignant gliomas,” she said.

Dr. Scheck reported that the ketogenic diet could rapidly and simply be added into current brain tumor treatment plans as a complementary therapy without the need for US Food and Drug Admisntration (FDA) approval. She is currently searching for options for clinical trials.

The study’s findings were published December 7, 2012, in the journal PLOS ONE.

Related Links:
Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center