Keto diet can fight cancer but also poses risks, study finds

It can slow tumour growth, but can speed up syndrome that causes loss of muscle, fat

- Zhaki Abdullah

A ketogenic diet can help slow the growth of cancer tumours, though it can also accelerate a wasting syndrome that causes the loss of skeletal muscle and fat, recent research has found.

But when such a diet is combined with the use of the steroid hormone dexamethasone, they can suppress tumour growth while delaying the wasting syndrome, known as cachexia.

The study was carried out by researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) and Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory in New York.

Published in scientific journal Cell Metabolism in June, the study notes that cancer cells are dependent on glucose.

One of the study's authors, Professor Ashok Venkitaraman, said the idea of pairing cancer drugs with a change in diet to aid in the treatment of cancer has been around for some time.