A new study has found that a substance produced by the body during a keto diet may help make a powerful cancer treatment work better.
The compound, called beta-hydroxybutyrate or BHB, appears to give immune cells more energy to fight cancer. This discovery could lead to new ways to improve cancer treatment using diet or supplements.
The research was shared at the American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting and was led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania.
The study focused on CAR T-cell therapy, an advanced cancer treatment where a patient’s immune cells are taken out, changed in a lab to recognize cancer cells, and then put back into the body to fight the disease. CAR T-cell therapy has helped many people with blood cancers like lymphoma, but it doesn’t work for everyone.
That’s where BHB comes in. BHB is made by the body when it burns fat for energy instead of sugar. This usually happens when someone follows a keto diet—a diet that cuts out most carbs and focuses on fat and protein. The researchers believe that CAR T-cells might prefer using BHB for fuel instead of sugar, giving them more energy to kill cancer cells.
To test this idea, the team first tried the keto diet in mice with lymphoma. They found that the mice responded better to CAR T-cell therapy when they were on the keto diet. Then they gave mice a BHB supplement while keeping their regular diet. This also worked, and in most cases, the cancer was completely wiped out.
The researchers didn’t stop with animal studies. They also looked at blood samples from human patients who had received CAR T-cell therapy. They discovered that patients with higher BHB levels had more active CAR T-cells. This suggests that BHB might improve treatment in people as well.
Based on these promising results, the team is now planning a clinical trial. The goal is to see if giving BHB supplements to cancer patients can boost the effects of CAR T-cell therapy. They plan to include patients with a type of cancer called large B-cell lymphoma, especially those whose cancer has come back or didn’t respond to other treatments.
The researchers are hopeful because BHB supplements are not expensive and are generally safe. If the trial works, this could become a simple way to help cancer patients respond better to treatment. It might also be combined with other diet changes or standard treatments to improve results even more.
However, the scientists stress that the research is still in its early stages. Until there is solid proof from clinical trials, they are not recommending any diet or supplement changes for cancer patients.
Still, this study offers an exciting new idea: that what we eat—or how our body produces energy—might play a role in helping the immune system fight cancer. It’s a step toward making cancer treatments more effective and personalized.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that artificial sweeteners are linked to higher cancer risk, and how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
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