ArticleNature communications2023
Cyclic fasting bolsters cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors' anticancer activity.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 8 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spatiotemporal dynamics of the host-tumor metabolic interface: Implications for precision nutritional oncology.Genes & diseases · 2026Review
- Ox-LDL Induces Neuron Apoptosis and Worsens Neurological Outcomes in aSAH via Fas/FADD Pathway.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Review
- Targeting the hERG1/β1 integrin complex in lipid rafts potentiates statins anti-cancer activity in pancreatic cancer.Cell death discovery · 2025Article
- Ruthenium(II) Complex with 8-Hydroxyquinoline Exhibits Antitumor Activity in Breast Cancer Cell Lines.Cancers · 2025Article
- Fasting as an Adjuvant Therapy for Cancer: Mechanism of Action and Clinical Practice.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
18 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Identifying oncological applications for drugs that are already approved for other medical indications is considered a possible solution for the increasing costs of cancer treatment. Under the hypothesis that nutritional stress through fasting might enhance the antitumour properties of at least some non-oncological agents, by screening drug libraries, we find that cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors (CBIs), including simvastatin, have increased activity against cancers of different histology under fasting conditions. We show fasting's ability to increase CBIs' antitumour effects to depend on the reduction in circulating insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 and leptin, which blunts the expression of enzymes from the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway and enhances cholesterol efflux from cancer cells. Ultimately, low cholesterol levels through combined fasting and CBIs reduce AKT and STAT3 activity, oxidative phosphorylation and energy stores in the tumour. Our results support further studies of CBIs in combination with fasting-based dietary regimens in cancer treatment and highlight the value of fasting for drug repurposing in oncology.
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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.