A groundbreaking study by researchers at UC San Francisco has unveiled a novel approach to combat pancreatic cancer using a ketogenic diet in combination with cancer therapy. Published in Nature, the study demonstrates how a high-fat diet can effectively starve pancreatic tumors by depriving them of their primary energy source. The research team, led by Dr. Davide Ruggero, discovered that the ketogenic diet, when paired with the cancer drug eFT508, blocks fat metabolism, which is crucial for tumor growth.
This innovative treatment strategy leverages the body’s natural metabolic shift to fat consumption during fasting, driven by the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF4E). By inhibiting eIF4E, the therapy cuts off the cancer cells’ fuel supply, leading to tumor shrinkage. This discovery opens new avenues for integrating dietary interventions with existing cancer therapies to target specific cancer vulnerabilities. For more details, visit the UCSF News article.