Intermittent fasting in the prevention and treatment of cancer

Chronic caloric restriction (CR) has powerful anticarcinogenic actions in both preclinical and clinical studies but may be difficult to sustain. As an alternative to CR, there has been growing interest in intermittent fasting (IF) in both the scientific and lay community as a result of promising stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCA: a cancer journal for clinicians Vol. 71; no. 6; pp. 527 - 546
Main Authors Clifton, Katherine K., Ma, Cynthia X., Fontana, Luigi, Peterson, Lindsay L.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.11.2021
Subjects
Animal models
Animals
Caloric Restriction
Cancer
Chemotherapy
Clinical trials
Clinical Trials as Topic
Diet
Dietary restrictions
Fasting
Humans
neoplasms
Neoplasms - therapy
obesity
Obesity - complications
Patients
Prognosis
Risk
Toxicity
Tumors
fasting
caloric restriction
neoplasms
obesity
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Summary:Chronic caloric restriction (CR) has powerful anticarcinogenic actions in both preclinical and clinical studies but may be difficult to sustain. As an alternative to CR, there has been growing interest in intermittent fasting (IF) in both the scientific and lay community as a result of promising study results, mainly in experimental animal models. According to a survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation, IF has become the most popular diet in the last year, and patients with cancer are seeking advice from oncologists about its beneficial effects for cancer prevention and treatment. However, as discussed in this review, results from IF studies in rodents are controversial and suggest potential detrimental effects in certain oncologic conditions. The effects of IF on human cancer incidence and prognosis remain unknown because of a lack of high‐quality randomized clinical trials. Preliminary studies suggest that prolonged fasting in some patients who have cancer is safe and potentially capable of decreasing chemotherapy‐related toxicity and tumor growth. However, because additional trials are needed to elucidate the risks and benefits of fasting for patients with cancer, the authors would not currently recommend patients undergoing active cancer treatment partake in IF outside the context of a clinical trial. IF may be considered in adults seeking cancer‐prevention benefits through means of weight management, but whether IF itself affects cancer‐related metabolic and molecular pathways remains unanswered.
Bibliography:Luigi Fontana is supported by grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Investigator Grant APP1177797), the Australian Youth and Health Foundation, and the Philip Bushell Foundation). Cynthia X. Ma reports grants and personal fees from Puma and Pfizer and personal fees from Eli Lilly, Novartis, Seattle Genetics, Agendia, AstraZeneca, Phillips Electronics, Tempus, Biovica, Bayer, and Sanofi outside the submitted work. Luigi Fontana reports book royalties from Hardie for his book
The last 2 authors contributed equally to this article.
The Path to Longevity
DISCLOSURES
(2020) outside the submitted work. Lindsay L. Peterson reports a Mentored Research Scholar Grant (MRSG1819901NEC) from the American Cancer Society paid to the Washington University School of Medicine outside the submitted work. Katherine K. Clifton reports a grant from the Cancer and Aging Research Group outside the submitted work.
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ISSN:0007-9235
1542-4863
DOI:10.3322/caac.21694