Postoperative recurrence of pancreatic cancer controlled for 9 months solely by severe carbohydrate restriction: ketogenic diet.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Individual clinical case report
PubMed 40956494 · doi:10.1007/s12328-025-02221-z
What was done
A 60-year-old female with recurrent metastatic pancreatic cancer (pulmonary metastases progressing after surgery, multiple lines of chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) was treated solely with severe carbohydrate restriction (a ketogenic diet) at her request.
What was found
After 9 months of maintaining the ketogenic diet without concurrent antineoplastic therapy, follow-up CT imaging demonstrated stable disease with suppressed progression of the pulmonary metastases. No numerical tumor measurements or biomarker data were provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
It documents temporary disease stabilization in advanced recurrent pancreatic cancer managed exclusively through dietary carbohydrate restriction, highlighting a potential metabolic avenue for formal clinical trials.
Limits
This is an uncontrolled single-patient case report (n = 1), precluding causal inference. Delayed treatment effects from prior radiotherapy or chemotherapy cannot be excluded, dietary compliance and ketone levels are not quantified in the abstract, and durability beyond 9 months is unmeasured.
Cited by
- context Clinical studies using ketogenic diets in stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients have demonstrated cancer remissions.