SynthesisClinical and experimental medicine2021
The use of ketogenic diets in cancer patients: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Clinical and experimental medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Exercise or Diet or Combined Interventions on Treatment Efficacy of Chemotherapy for Cancer: A Systematic Review.Current nutrition reports · 2025Pooled it
- Database Analysis of Application Areas and Global Trends in Ketogenic Diets from 2019 to 2024.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- The Ketogenic Diet as Adjunctive Strategy in Cancer Treatment-Therapeutic Benefits and Metabolic Risk Using Breast Cancer as an Example.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Ketogenic Diet as an Adjuvant in Epithelial Cancers: Mechanisms, Model Systems, and Translational Opportunities.Cancers · 2026Review
- Integrated Morphoanatomical, Phytochemical, and Bioactive Insights Into the Ethnomedicinal Plant Daphniphyllum neilgherrense.Chemistry & biodiversity · 2026Article
- Acetoacetate suppresses colon cancer via an MR1-MAIT axis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Ketogenic diet and cancer: multidimensional exploration and research.Science China. Life sciences · 2025Review
- Combined Blockade of Lipid Uptake and Synthesis by CD36 Inhibitor and SCD1 siRNA Is Beneficial for the Treatment of Refractory Prostate Cancer.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Role of diet, physical activity and new drugs in the primary management of cancer cachexia in gastrointestinal tumors - a comprehensive review.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Intermittent Fasting and Fasting-mimicking Diet: Promising Strategies in Cancer Management.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Clinical research framework proposal for ketogenic metabolic therapy in glioblastoma.BMC medicine · 2024Review
- High-Fat Diet Delays Liver Fibrosis Recovery and Promotes Hepatocarcinogenesis in Rat Liver Cirrhosis Model.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Molecular Mechanisms of Western Diet-Induced Obesity and Obesity-Related Carcinogenesis-A Narrative Review.Metabolites · 2023Review
- Nutrition care is an integral part of patient-centred medical care: a European consensus.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2023Article
- The Ketogenic Diet in Colorectal Cancer: A Means to an End.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Review
- Critical Review on Fatty Acid-Based Food and Nutraceuticals as Supporting Therapy in Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Review
- Ketogenic Diets in Pancreatic Cancer and Associated Cachexia: Cellular Mechanisms and Clinical Perspectives.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Ketogenic diets are a widely known, yet controversial treatment for cancer patients. In this review, we summarize the clinical evidence for anti-tumor effects, as well as the effects on anthropometry, quality of life, adverse events and adherence in cancer patients. In April 2019, a systematic search was conducted searching five electronic databases (EMBASE, Cochrane, PsychInfo, CINAHL and Medline) to find studies analyzing the use, effectiveness and potential harm of a ketogenic diet in cancer patients of any age as sole or complementary therapy. From all 19.211 search results, 46 publications concerning 39 studies with 770 patients were included in this systematic review. The therapy concepts included all forms of diets with reduced carbohydrate intake, that aimed to achieve ketosis for patients with different types of cancer. Most studies had a low quality, high risk of bias and were highly heterogeneous. There was no conclusive evidence for anti-tumor effects or improved OS. The majority of patients had significant weight loss and mild to moderate side effects. Adherence to the diet was rather low in most studies. Due to the very heterogeneous results and methodological limitations of the included studies, clinical evidence for the effectiveness of ketogenic diets in cancer patients is still lacking.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.