Can the ketogenic diet help in the case of melanoma?

ok, I guess that makes sense (I was looking for a control group.) 

 you say, "The more important thing here is that 5 people had stable disease for 3 months"

While any quality of life improvement is good, I am not sure I see stable disease claims here Jake. (Sorry to be so picky:)

abstract quote..

" …while several other parameters of quality of life remained stable or worsened, reflecting their very advanced disease"

ok, I guess that makes sense (I was looking for a control group.) 

 you say, "The more important thing here is that 5 people had stable disease for 3 months"

While any quality of life improvement is good, I am not sure I see stable disease claims here Jake. (Sorry to be so picky:)

abstract quote..

" …while several other parameters of quality of life remained stable or worsened, reflecting their very advanced disease"

ok, I guess that makes sense (I was looking for a control group.) 

 you say, "The more important thing here is that 5 people had stable disease for 3 months"

While any quality of life improvement is good, I am not sure I see stable disease claims here Jake. (Sorry to be so picky:)

abstract quote..

" …while several other parameters of quality of life remained stable or worsened, reflecting their very advanced disease"

This quote from the discussion is interesting too 

Discussion

"The present study has several limitations. Only few patients fulfilled the requirements and all of them were in a very advanced stage of disease, as reflected by the two early death cases and the progress of disease in five cases which made it impossible for those patients to follow the diet for the whole time. Since we aimed to test the acceptability and compatibility of an LCHF diet in advanced cancer patients, we did not select patients according to their tumors. Therefore, the group was very inhomogeneous. Further, the majority of the study participants were not from our own hospital, but scattered all over Germany and blood samples and laboratory parameters had to be provided by their family doctors or local oncologists."

This quote from the discussion is interesting too 

Discussion

"The present study has several limitations. Only few patients fulfilled the requirements and all of them were in a very advanced stage of disease, as reflected by the two early death cases and the progress of disease in five cases which made it impossible for those patients to follow the diet for the whole time. Since we aimed to test the acceptability and compatibility of an LCHF diet in advanced cancer patients, we did not select patients according to their tumors. Therefore, the group was very inhomogeneous. Further, the majority of the study participants were not from our own hospital, but scattered all over Germany and blood samples and laboratory parameters had to be provided by their family doctors or local oncologists."

This small quality of life study focused on end stage cancer patients and has identified some pretty uncomfortable digestive issues, at least for the initial 4 weeks. 

Figure 4

"Concerning digestive functions, the symptoms score showed an increase in appetite loss, constipation or diarrhoea in the first four weeks of the diet. Symptoms then remain stable and signs of diarrhoea diminish. D) The other symptoms were an increase in fatigue and pain corresponding to the very advanced tumor situation. However, insomnia clearly decreased with ongoing dieting. Graphs are given as means for the seven evaluable patients."

The following quote seems to indicate further study may focus on a healthier patient population, I find this reassuring.. as I stated at the outset, I do not wish to knock ideas. Just dig a little. 

Discussion 

"As described in previous studies [40], we found an LCHF treatment in adult patients to be only slightly feasible. Based on our observations, an LCHF diet is not an option for all patients with advanced cancer, since the associated changes in eating habits (e.g. waiving soft drinks and beer) are not acceptable for some of them. For other patients however, an LCHF diet might be an option for increasing their quality of life. The latter belong to the group of patients who want to actively influence the course of the disease (by change of lifestyle) and who are in a phase of their disease where cooking and eating are not hampered. Although there was a worsening in some parameters of the quality of life assessment, reflecting the very advanced situation of our patients, we found an improvement in emotional functioning and insomnia, even though the course of the disease in our patients was progressive or in the best case, stable. Certainly, we cannot exclude the possibility of a placebo effect caused by a) the intensive consultation and briefing of the patients and b) the chance for patients to actively participate in their therapy. Further, anecdotic evidence links the presence of ketone bodies to a mild euphoria [43] which was assumed to be caused by one of the ketone bodies, beta-hydroxybutyrate. Thus, this metabolic state of ketosis, which was reached by six of our patients, could be the reason for the improvement in our patients, too."

Bottom line –I have health issues which limit my choices. However, if this were not the case, in addition to seeking treatment I might consider experimenting with my diet.  

Bottom line –I have health issues which limit my choices. However, if this were not the case, in addition to seeking treatment I might consider experimenting with my diet.  

Jake, doing a search of the term looks interesting.   Sounds like something reasonable for some to try.  

I am also interested in the recent reports

  1. about aspirin and cancers. 

  2. Doxycycline type antibiotics and melanoma.

i also take cucumin as MDA did an interesting study on it's effects.

If one is on any treatment n must learn how the treatment gets to and interacts with the tumor cells and what can possibly help and what might hurt delivery of the treatment . 

For instance if a drug is delivered into a tumor by oxidants, how many anti-oxidants is acceptable?  So many interactions that still are not clearly defined.

Jake, doing a search of the term looks interesting.   Sounds like something reasonable for some to try.  

I am also interested in the recent reports

  1. about aspirin and cancers. 

  2. Doxycycline type antibiotics and melanoma.

i also take cucumin as MDA did an interesting study on it's effects.

If one is on any treatment n must learn how the treatment gets to and interacts with the tumor cells and what can possibly help and what might hurt delivery of the treatment . 

For instance if a drug is delivered into a tumor by oxidants, how many anti-oxidants is acceptable?  So many interactions that still are not clearly defined.

Hi there, 

I'm new to this site but I just wanted to add my experience with the ketogenic diet and ocular melanoma. 

In August 2012 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 ocular melanoma in my liver and spine. I immediately changed my diet to clean, organic, and non-processed. I had IPI, dacarbazine and TACE and none of these treatments worked. 

In July 2013 I switched to the ketogenic diet. I had a scan immediately before starting, and then another scan 6 weeks later. All my smaller liver tumours had stopped growing. The largest one had changed shape dramatically. This was in a period when I had no other treatments, and all previous treatments had been deemed ineffective. 

I have been having various treatments for the past two years, most recently chemosaturation (Delcath) in Southampton. I was told in Southampton by the oncology professor that my disease is very unusual in that it is very slow growing, and that for me, this ketogenic diet must be having an impact. The ketogenic diet, I feel, kept my disease stable long enough for me to be able to have the chemosaturation in Southampton. 

I am awaiting scan results after my second chemosaturation, but they said that my results after the first chemosaturation (average 20% decrease in all liver tumours), was the best they have seen for such a large tumour. I believe this may partly be due to my ketogenic diet. 

I think that all ocular melanoma patients should at least try the ketogenic diet and see what effects it has for them. I believe I would not be alive right now were it not for the combined effects of my ketogenic diet and some excellent new treatments. The ketogenic diet really should be embarked upon under the guidance of a specialist nutritionist who deals with the ketogenic diet. 

Best wishes.

Hi there, 

I'm new to this site but I just wanted to add my experience with the ketogenic diet and ocular melanoma. 

In August 2012 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 ocular melanoma in my liver and spine. I immediately changed my diet to clean, organic, and non-processed. I had IPI, dacarbazine and TACE and none of these treatments worked. 

In July 2013 I switched to the ketogenic diet. I had a scan immediately before starting, and then another scan 6 weeks later. All my smaller liver tumours had stopped growing. The largest one had changed shape dramatically. This was in a period when I had no other treatments, and all previous treatments had been deemed ineffective. 

I have been having various treatments for the past two years, most recently chemosaturation (Delcath) in Southampton. I was told in Southampton by the oncology professor that my disease is very unusual in that it is very slow growing, and that for me, this ketogenic diet must be having an impact. The ketogenic diet, I feel, kept my disease stable long enough for me to be able to have the chemosaturation in Southampton. 

I am awaiting scan results after my second chemosaturation, but they said that my results after the first chemosaturation (average 20% decrease in all liver tumours), was the best they have seen for such a large tumour. I believe this may partly be due to my ketogenic diet. 

I think that all ocular melanoma patients should at least try the ketogenic diet and see what effects it has for them. I believe I would not be alive right now were it not for the combined effects of my ketogenic diet and some excellent new treatments. The ketogenic diet really should be embarked upon under the guidance of a specialist nutritionist who deals with the ketogenic diet. 

Best wishes.

Hi there, 

I'm new to this site but I just wanted to add my experience with the ketogenic diet and ocular melanoma. 

In August 2012 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 ocular melanoma in my liver and spine. I immediately changed my diet to clean, organic, and non-processed. I had IPI, dacarbazine and TACE and none of these treatments worked. 

In July 2013 I switched to the ketogenic diet. I had a scan immediately before starting, and then another scan 6 weeks later. All my smaller liver tumours had stopped growing. The largest one had changed shape dramatically. This was in a period when I had no other treatments, and all previous treatments had been deemed ineffective. 

I have been having various treatments for the past two years, most recently chemosaturation (Delcath) in Southampton. I was told in Southampton by the oncology professor that my disease is very unusual in that it is very slow growing, and that for me, this ketogenic diet must be having an impact. The ketogenic diet, I feel, kept my disease stable long enough for me to be able to have the chemosaturation in Southampton. 

I am awaiting scan results after my second chemosaturation, but they said that my results after the first chemosaturation (average 20% decrease in all liver tumours), was the best they have seen for such a large tumour. I believe this may partly be due to my ketogenic diet. 

I think that all ocular melanoma patients should at least try the ketogenic diet and see what effects it has for them. I believe I would not be alive right now were it not for the combined effects of my ketogenic diet and some excellent new treatments. The ketogenic diet really should be embarked upon under the guidance of a specialist nutritionist who deals with the ketogenic diet. 

Best wishes.

Jake, doing a search of the term looks interesting.   Sounds like something reasonable for some to try.  

I am also interested in the recent reports

  1. about aspirin and cancers. 

  2. Doxycycline type antibiotics and melanoma.

i also take cucumin as MDA did an interesting study on it's effects.

If one is on any treatment n must learn how the treatment gets to and interacts with the tumor cells and what can possibly help and what might hurt delivery of the treatment . 

For instance if a drug is delivered into a tumor by oxidants, how many anti-oxidants is acceptable?  So many interactions that still are not clearly defined.

Bottom line –I have health issues which limit my choices. However, if this were not the case, in addition to seeking treatment I might consider experimenting with my diet.  

This small quality of life study focused on end stage cancer patients and has identified some pretty uncomfortable digestive issues, at least for the initial 4 weeks. 

Figure 4

"Concerning digestive functions, the symptoms score showed an increase in appetite loss, constipation or diarrhoea in the first four weeks of the diet. Symptoms then remain stable and signs of diarrhoea diminish. D) The other symptoms were an increase in fatigue and pain corresponding to the very advanced tumor situation. However, insomnia clearly decreased with ongoing dieting. Graphs are given as means for the seven evaluable patients."

The following quote seems to indicate further study may focus on a healthier patient population, I find this reassuring.. as I stated at the outset, I do not wish to knock ideas. Just dig a little. 

Discussion 

"As described in previous studies [40], we found an LCHF treatment in adult patients to be only slightly feasible. Based on our observations, an LCHF diet is not an option for all patients with advanced cancer, since the associated changes in eating habits (e.g. waiving soft drinks and beer) are not acceptable for some of them. For other patients however, an LCHF diet might be an option for increasing their quality of life. The latter belong to the group of patients who want to actively influence the course of the disease (by change of lifestyle) and who are in a phase of their disease where cooking and eating are not hampered. Although there was a worsening in some parameters of the quality of life assessment, reflecting the very advanced situation of our patients, we found an improvement in emotional functioning and insomnia, even though the course of the disease in our patients was progressive or in the best case, stable. Certainly, we cannot exclude the possibility of a placebo effect caused by a) the intensive consultation and briefing of the patients and b) the chance for patients to actively participate in their therapy. Further, anecdotic evidence links the presence of ketone bodies to a mild euphoria [43] which was assumed to be caused by one of the ketone bodies, beta-hydroxybutyrate. Thus, this metabolic state of ketosis, which was reached by six of our patients, could be the reason for the improvement in our patients, too."

This small quality of life study focused on end stage cancer patients and has identified some pretty uncomfortable digestive issues, at least for the initial 4 weeks. 

Figure 4

"Concerning digestive functions, the symptoms score showed an increase in appetite loss, constipation or diarrhoea in the first four weeks of the diet. Symptoms then remain stable and signs of diarrhoea diminish. D) The other symptoms were an increase in fatigue and pain corresponding to the very advanced tumor situation. However, insomnia clearly decreased with ongoing dieting. Graphs are given as means for the seven evaluable patients."

The following quote seems to indicate further study may focus on a healthier patient population, I find this reassuring.. as I stated at the outset, I do not wish to knock ideas. Just dig a little. 

Discussion 

"As described in previous studies [40], we found an LCHF treatment in adult patients to be only slightly feasible. Based on our observations, an LCHF diet is not an option for all patients with advanced cancer, since the associated changes in eating habits (e.g. waiving soft drinks and beer) are not acceptable for some of them. For other patients however, an LCHF diet might be an option for increasing their quality of life. The latter belong to the group of patients who want to actively influence the course of the disease (by change of lifestyle) and who are in a phase of their disease where cooking and eating are not hampered. Although there was a worsening in some parameters of the quality of life assessment, reflecting the very advanced situation of our patients, we found an improvement in emotional functioning and insomnia, even though the course of the disease in our patients was progressive or in the best case, stable. Certainly, we cannot exclude the possibility of a placebo effect caused by a) the intensive consultation and briefing of the patients and b) the chance for patients to actively participate in their therapy. Further, anecdotic evidence links the presence of ketone bodies to a mild euphoria [43] which was assumed to be caused by one of the ketone bodies, beta-hydroxybutyrate. Thus, this metabolic state of ketosis, which was reached by six of our patients, could be the reason for the improvement in our patients, too."

This quote from the discussion is interesting too 

Discussion

"The present study has several limitations. Only few patients fulfilled the requirements and all of them were in a very advanced stage of disease, as reflected by the two early death cases and the progress of disease in five cases which made it impossible for those patients to follow the diet for the whole time. Since we aimed to test the acceptability and compatibility of an LCHF diet in advanced cancer patients, we did not select patients according to their tumors. Therefore, the group was very inhomogeneous. Further, the majority of the study participants were not from our own hospital, but scattered all over Germany and blood samples and laboratory parameters had to be provided by their family doctors or local oncologists."