Trial reportJournal of neuro-oncology2014
Targeting metabolism with a ketogenic diet during the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.
Trial report in Journal of neuro-oncology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05373381 (A Modified Ketogenic, Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Patients With High-Grade Gliomas), which is not on this map. Cited by 126 papers, 12 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.
A Modified Ketogenic, Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Patients With High-Grade Gliomas
Who cites it
126 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 218 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metabolic modulation of glioblastoma by dietary intervention: a systematic review.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of ketogenic diet in glioblastoma: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of ketogenic metabolic therapy as an adjuvant to the current standard of care in the treatment of glioblastoma: A systematic review of clinical trials.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) Position Statement on Medical Nutrition Therapy for the Management of Individuals with Overweight or Obesity and Cancer.Obesity facts · 2025Guideline
- Pooled it
- The use of ketogenic diets in cancer patients: a systematic review.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Perspective: Do Fasting, Caloric Restriction, and Diets Increase Sensitivity to Radiotherapy? A Literature Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- Ketogenic diets in medical oncology: a systematic review with focus on clinical outcomes.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2020Pooled it
- The role of ketogenic diets in the therapeutic management of adult and paediatric gliomas: a systematic review.CNS oncology · 2018Pooled it
- [Efficacy of a ketogenic diet in urological cancers patients : A systematic review].Der Urologe. Ausg. A · 2018Pooled it
- Systematic review: isocaloric ketogenic dietary regimes for cancer patients.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2017Pooled it
- Does a ketogenic diet have beneficial effects on quality of life, physical activity or biomarkers in patients with breast cancer: a randomized controlled clinical trial.Nutrition journal · 2020Trial
- Ketogenic diets as an adjuvant therapy for glioblastoma (KEATING): a randomized, mixed methods, feasibility study.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2020Trial
- A Ketogenic Diet Reduces Central Obesity and Serum Insulin in Women with Ovarian or Endometrial Cancer.The Journal of nutrition · 2018Trial
- Amino acid metabolic reprogramming by gut microbiota: a novel metabolic checkpoint in the tumor microenvironment.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Nutrition as Modulator of Oxidative Stress in Cancer Prevention and Treatment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Metabolic Therapy in Glioblastoma-Mapping the Evidence for Ketogenic Diet as an Adjunctive Strategy.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Ketogenic Diet: A Metabolic Key to Overcoming Cancer Therapy Resistance.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Review
- Ketogenic and Low-Carbohydrate Diets in Prostate Cancer: Metabolic Rationale, Preclinical Evidence, and Preliminary Clinical Data.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
66 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Retrospective data suggests that low serum glucose levels during the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) may improve clinical outcomes. As such, many patients are implementing a ketogenic diet (KD) in order to decrease serum glucose flux while simultaneously elevating circulating ketones during radiation therapy and chemotherapy for the treatment of GBM. With IRB approval, a retrospective review of patients with high-grade glioma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy was carried out from August 2010 to April 2013. Serum glucose and ketone levels, dexamethasone dose, and toxicity of patients undergoing a KD during treatment were also assessed. Blood glucose levels were compared between patients on an unspecified/standard diet and a KD. Toxicity was assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4. In total, 53 patients were analyzed. Six underwent a KD during treatment. The diet was well tolerated with no grade III toxicity and one episode of grade II fatigue. No episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia were experienced. Four patients are alive at a median follow-up of 14 months. The mean blood glucose of patients on a standard diet was 122 versus 84 mg/dl for those on a KD. Based on this retrospective study, a KD appears safe and well tolerated during the standard treatment of GBM. Dietary restriction of carbohydrates through a KD reduces serum glucose levels significantly, even in conjunction with high dose steroids, which may affect the response to standard treatment and prognosis. Larger prospective trials to confirm this relationship are warranted.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.