A review of nutrition and dietary interventions in oncology

Ashley Gray; Brian N Dang; Theodore B Moore; Roger Clemens; Peter Pressman

doi:10.1177/2050312120926877

A review of nutrition and dietary interventions in oncology

SAGE Open Med. 2020 Jun 1:8:2050312120926877. doi: 10.1177/2050312120926877. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Ashley Gray¹, Brian N Dang², Theodore B Moore¹, Roger Clemens³, Peter Pressman⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Mattel Children's Hospital, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
² David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
³ Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy, International Center for Regulatory Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁴ Polyscience Consulting & Director of Nutrition and Public Health, The Daedalus Foundation, San Clemente, CA, USA.

Abstract

The complex cellular mechanisms and inter-related pathways of cancer proliferation, evasion, and metastasis remain an emerging field of research. Over the last several decades, nutritional research has prominent role in identifying emerging adjuvant therapies in our fight against cancer. Nutritional and dietary interventions are being explored to improve the morbidity and mortality for cancer patients worldwide. In this review, we examine several dietary interventions and their proposed mechanisms against cancer as well as identifying limitations in the currently available literature. This review provides a comprehensive review of the cancer metabolism, dietary interventions used during cancer treatment, anti metabolic drugs, and their impact on nutritional deficiencies along with a critical review of the following diets: caloric restriction, intermittent fasting, ketogenic diet, Mediterranean diet, Japanese diet, and vegan diet.

Keywords: Diet; caloric restriction; intermittent fasting; ketogenic diet; oncology.

Publication types

Review