Eating on a daily schedule to lower breast cancer risk
Time-restricted feeding and breast cancer
This project looks at whether restricting daily eating to a set time window can improve metabolism and lower breast cancer risk for people with obesity or higher risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11142589 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are studying how limiting food to a daily time window (time-restricted feeding) changes weight, insulin, inflammation, and tumor behavior. They combine animal and lab studies with data relevant to humans to understand the biological links between obesity and breast cancer. The team compares outcomes from time-restricted eating versus typical eating patterns and measures effects on tumor growth and markers tied to metastasis. If you have obesity or are concerned about breast cancer risk, the findings could inform simple daily eating changes.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be women with obesity or mid-to-late adulthood who are at increased risk for breast cancer, including breast cancer survivors worried about recurrence.
Not a fit: People without obesity, those whose cancer risk is driven by non-metabolic causes, or men may be less likely to benefit from the specific interventions studied here.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to an easy-to-follow eating schedule that lowers breast cancer risk and improves metabolic health for people with obesity.
How similar studies have performed: Animal studies and small human trials show time-restricted feeding can improve metabolic markers, but evidence that it reduces breast cancer risk or recurrence is still limited.
Where this research is happening
La Jolla, United States
- University of California, San Diego — La Jolla, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Webster, Nicholas J — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Webster, Nicholas J
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.