Keto diet boosts new cancer therapy

A new type of immunotherapy to fight cancer is boosted by a ketogenic diet.

The therapy, CAR T, which genetically modifies samples of the patient’s blood, gains potency when it feeds off the metabolite BHB (beta-hydroxybutyrate), which is produced by the liver during a keto diet.

CAR T cells prefer BHB as a food source rather than glucose, or blood sugars, that are made from carbohydrates, explain researchers from the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine.

They have been assessing the way that CAR T cells respond to various diets, and they discovered that the low-carb keto diet make them more powerful cancer fighters, and help the patient live longer.

In laboratory tests on cancer cells, the researchers found that CAR T cells feeding off BHB supplements ‘obliterated’ the tumours.

CAR T has so far been used on blood cancers, but the researchers think it could be used on other cancers if it is supplemented with BHB supplements—or if the patient goes on a strict keto diet.  The approach is simple, inexpensive and doesn’t have the toxicity of chemotherapy, said Maayan Levy, one of the researchers.

The therapy uses the body’s own T cells to fight cancer by genetically modifying blood samples and infusing them back into the patient.

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