Restricted Ketogenic Diet Therapy for Primary Lung Cancer With Metastasis to the Brain: A Case Report

Abstract

A high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet was administered as a complementary and alternative therapy to a 54year-old man suffering from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with brain metastasis. Three months after the cessation of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, a ketogenic diet (KD) was initiated. This approach was an attempt to stabilize the disease progression after chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Computed tomography following radiation and chemotherapy showed a reduction in the right frontal lobe lesion from 5.5 cm × 6.2 cm to 4 cm × 2.7 cm, while the mass in the upper-right lung lobe reduced from 6.0 cm × 3.0 cm to 2.0 × 1.8 cm. Two years after KD initiation and without any other therapeutic intervention, the right frontal lobe lesion calcified and decreased in size to 1.9 cm × 1.0 cm, while the size of the lung mass further decreased to 1.7 cm × 1.0 cm. The size of the brain and lung lesion remained stable after nine years of KD therapy. However, dyslipidemia developed after this time which led to the discontinuation of the diet. No tumor relapse or health issues occurred for two years after the discontinuation of the diet. This case report indicates that the inclusion of ketogenic metabolic therapy following radiation and chemotherapy is associated with better clinical and survival outcomes for our patient with metastatic NSCLC.

Differentiating Compromised Mitochondria of Lung Cancer Cells from Mitochondria in Healthy Cells

“…Increase in lactate and succinate makes the tumor environment acidic leading to an increase in angiogenesis [15]. Although lactate has its role in cancer progression glucose and glutamine are considered a major source of energy required for cancer growth [16]. Dysfunctional mitochondria can be considered as the fi fth cancer hallmark [5].…”

Case report: Resolution of malignant canine mast cell tumor using ketogenic metabolic therapy alone

“…The well-documented abnormalities in mitochondrial number, structure, and function compromise energy synthesis through OxPhos ( 8 ). KMT used either alone or in combination with standard of care has therapeutic benefit for managing a broad range of animal and human cancers ( 9 , 18 – 20 ). In this report, we present evidence showing that KMT used alone was able to resolve a malignant cutaneous MCT in a dog.…”