Ketogenic diet may slow tumor growth but worsen cancer cachexia and survival
Official title: Mechanism by which ketogenic diet uncouples tumor growth and overall survival
Funded at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · NIH-11331972 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research grant explores how a ketogenic diet affects cancer and body wasting, focusing on two mouse cancer models to understand why tumors respond differently from the patient’s overall health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cold Spring Harbor, United States) |
| Project start | June 6, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $535,536 |
| NIH project number | 5R37CA286477-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11331972 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are individuals with cancer who could participate in future translational or clinical studies related to metabolic interventions and cancer cachexia.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without cachexia or those not affected by metabolic changes may see limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project studies how the ketogenic diet changes the balance between tumor growth and the body’s overall health in cancer. It uses two IL-6 associated mouse models of cancer cachexia to explore why the diet might slow tumors while accelerating wasting and shortening survival. Researchers will investigate how NADPH-dependent pathways inside tumors and in the adrenal glands interact, including effects on ferroptosis in cancer cells and on stress hormone production. They will test specific fat-enriched diets and drugs that induce ferroptosis, and perform rescue experiments to see if improving glucocorticoid levels can create a safer therapeutic window. The work aims to translate mechanistic insights into potential cancer treatments that minimize harm to patients while leveraging metabolic approaches.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could inform safer dietary and pharmacologic strategies to control tumor growth while protecting patients from severe cancer cachexia.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have shown both tumor responses and cachexia effects with metabolic interventions, but this specific uncoupling mechanism is novel.
Where this research is happening
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cold Spring Harbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Janowitz, Tobias — Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Study coordinator: Janowitz, Tobias
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.