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The [[Ketogenic Diet]] may help with the treatment of cancer, including brain tumors<ref name="Seyfried-2011"/><ref name="Seyfried-2009"/><ref name="Seyfried-2005"/>. Most of the available information comes from animal experiments, backed up with a few human case studies, but things look promising and [http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/search/view?cdrid=742309&version=HealthProfessional human trials are occurring]. There are even researchers who believe that the origin of cancer lies with metabolic abnormalities that lead to genetic problems rather than the genetic problems being the root cause<ref name="SeyfriedFlores2013"/>. Note that while the [[Ketogenic Diet as a Treatment| Ketogenic Diet may help with a number of diseases]], the [[Health Risks of the Ketogenic Diet| Ketogenic Diet also has some health risks]]. There are no indications that the Ketogenic Diet is a viable alternative to existing, traditional treatments, but it may become an important way of improving the success of the current approaches.
=How the Ketogenic Diet may help=
There may be several mechanisms behind the effect of the ketogenic diet on cancer. Some may also apply to a lesser extent to other [[Low Carbohydrate Diets]], but some require Ketones. It seems reasonable that the benefits of the ketogenic diet for cancer patients rely on multiple underlying mechanisms.* The ketogenic diet typically reduces blood glucose levels, and high blood glucose is associated with tumor growth and reduced survival rates in cancer patients<ref name="Chaichana-2010"/><ref name="Derr-2009"/><ref name="McGirt-2008"/> and animal models<ref name="Venkateswaran-2007"/>.* Carbohydrate restriction lowers insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) which directly stimulate tumor cell proliferation<ref name="Klement-2011"/>.
* Tumor cells are unable to metabolize ketones<ref name="Maurer-2011"/>.
* Cancers promote the growth of new blood vessels, something the ketogenic diet inhibits, as Ketones are [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiogenesis_inhibitor anti-angiogenic]<ref name="Zhou-2007"/>. This is also seen with calorie restriction, which reduces vascularity and increased apoptosis in mouse and human brain tumors<ref name="Mukherjee-2004"/>.
* Cancer cells often don't undergo natural cell death, something the ketogenic diet enhances<ref name="Skinner-2009"/>.
* Ketones may directly reduce the viability of cancer cells<ref name="Skinner-2009"/>.
=Animal Studies=
There are a number of animal studies that have looked at the ketogenic diet and cancer.* A study Some of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioma Glioma] tumor cells showed that an unrestricted these studies combine the ketogenic diet in mice that raised ketone levels without lowering glucose levels did not change survival rates<ref name="Maurer-2011"/>.* The with calorie restriction, while others provide an unrestricted diet combined with [[Omega 3]] access to food, and [[MCT]] delayed some are simply based around complete fasting. Obviously animal studies do not necessarily apply well to humans, but the growth of implanted gastric cancer cells in mice<ref name="Otto-2008"/>evidence is encouraging.
* The ketogenic diet may need to be combined with calorie restriction to ensure lowered glucose levels for the treatment of brain tumors<ref name="Seyfried-2008"/>. A study that compared an unrestricted standard diet, an unrestricted ketogenic diet and a restricted ketogenic diet in mice with implanted brain tumors, only the restricted ketogenic diet improved survival rates<ref name="Zhou-2007"/>.
* The unrestricted ketogenic diet combined with [[Omega 3]] and [[MCT]] delayed the growth of implanted gastric cancer cells in mice<ref name="Otto-2008"/>.
* Short term fasting can improve the survival rates for mice with implanted brain tumors, and this benefit can enhance both chemotherapy and radiation treatment<ref name="Safdie-2012"/>.
* Drugs are being developed for cancer treatment that target metabolic pathways<ref name="Tennant-2010"/>.
* Rats with grafted prostate cancer tumors given a no-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (83% fat, 0% carbohydrate, 17% protein) had a better survival rate than those given a medium carbohydrate diet (40% fat, 43% carbohydrate, 17% protein), but their survival was similar to those given a low fat diet (12% fat, 71% carbohydrate, 17% protein)<ref name="Mavropoulos-2009"/>.
* Rats with grafted lung cancer tumors showed that a ketogenic diet improved the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy<ref name="AllenBhatia2013"/>.
* A study of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioma Glioma] tumor cells showed that an unrestricted ketogenic diet in mice that raised ketone levels without lowering glucose levels did not change survival rates<ref name="Maurer-2011"/>.
* Rats with metastatic cancer had a 57% longer average survival time on the ketogenic diet than controls, and 78% longer when the ketogenic diet was combined with a hyperbaric oxygen therapy<ref name="TangPoff2013"/>.
=Human Case Studies=