Trial reportEuropean journal of nutrition2022
Short-term fasting in glioma patients: analysis of diet diaries and metabolic parameters of the ERGO2 trial.
Trial report in European journal of nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 31 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Calorie-restricted, Ketogenic Diet and Transient Fasting vs. Standard Nutrition During Reirradiation for Patients With Recurrent Glioblastoma: the ERGO2 Study
Pilot Study of the Living Well With Brain Cancer Intervention
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 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
- Impact of ketogenic diets on cancer patient outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of cognitive interventions for adult patients with brain tumours.Cancer medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Interventions for preventing and ameliorating cognitive deficits in adults treated with cranial irradiation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of Ketogenic Diets on Body Composition and Metabolic Parameters of Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Methodology of analysis of cognitive impairment in longitudinal randomized clinical trials in oncology: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Metabolic Therapy in Glioblastoma-Mapping the Evidence for Ketogenic Diet as an Adjunctive Strategy.Nutrients · 2026Review
- The advent of precision nutrigeroscience in cancer: from clinic towards molecular biology.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Nutrition and Its Impact on Quality of Life in Patients with Brain Tumors: A Scoping Review.Cancers · 2026Review
- Intermittent fasting inhibits Tp53-driven glioma through gut microbiota-mediated methionine-mNature communications · 2026Article
- Dietary polyphenols and nutritional modulators in glioblastoma: mechanistic promise and translational barriers.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Nutritional strategies in the management of diffuse gliomas: A systematic review.Neuro-oncology practice · 2025Article
- Charting cancer's course: revealing the role of diet, exercise, and the microbiome in cancer evolution and immunotherapy response.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025Review
- Critical Review of Ketogenic Diet Throughout the Cancer Continuum for Neuroglioma: Insights from a Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) Perspective.Current nutrition reports · 2025Review
- Comprehensive Overview of Ketone Bodies in Cancer Metabolism: Mechanisms and Application.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment and the Potential of Dietary Interventions for the Prevention and Mitigation of Neurodegeneration.Cancer research · 2025Review
- Systematic Review and Clinical Insights: The Role of the Ketogenic Diet in Managing Glioblastoma in Cancer Neuroscience.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Review
- Intermittent fasting and its impact on toxicities, symptoms and quality of life in patients on active cancer treatment.Cancer treatment reviews · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe prospective, randomized ERGO2 trial investigated the effect of calorie-restricted ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting (KD-IF) on re-irradiation for recurrent brain tumors. The study did not meet its primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival in comparison to standard diet (SD). We here report the results of the quality of life/neurocognition and a detailed analysis of the diet diaries.
methods50 patients were randomized 1:1 to re-irradiation combined with either SD or KD-IF. The KD-IF schedule included 3 days of ketogenic diet (KD: 21-23 kcal/kg/d, carbohydrate intake limited to 50 g/d), followed by 3 days of fasting and again 3 days of KD. Follow-up included examination of cognition, quality of life and serum samples.
resultsThe 20 patients who completed KD-IF met the prespecified goals for calorie and carbohydrate restriction. Substantial decreases in leptin and insulin and an increase in uric acid were observed. The SD group, of note, had a lower calorie intake than expected (21 kcal/kg/d instead of 30 kcal/kg/d). Neither quality of life nor cognition were affected by the diet. Low glucose emerged as a significant prognostic parameter in a best responder analysis.
conclusionThe strict caloric goals of the ERGO2 trial were tolerated well by patients with recurrent brain cancer. The short diet schedule led to significant metabolic changes with low glucose emerging as a candidate marker of better prognosis. The unexpected lower calorie intake of the control group complicates the interpretation of the results. Clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT01754350; Registration: 21.12.2012.
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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.