Halted Progression of Soft Palate Cancer in a Patient Treated with the Paleolithic Ketogenic Diet Alone: A 20-months Follow-up

September 2016
Csaba Tóth and Zsofia Clemens

Abstract

Introduction: Myoepithelial tumor of the soft palate is associated with rapid progression and poor outcome. The standard care includes surgery with optional radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Case report: Here we present a case with myoepithelial tumor of the soft palate where the patient denied conventional treatment options. Instead, the patient started the paleolithic ketogenic diet which resulted in a halted progression of the tumor as evidenced by imaging follow-up. Currently, the patient is on the diet for 20 months, without symptoms and side effects. Conclusion: We conclude that the paleolithic ketogenic diet was effective and safe in this patient.

Keywords: soft palate tumor, myoepithelial tumor, paleolithic diet, ketogenic diet

Cite This Article: Csaba Tóth, and Zsófia Clemens, “Halted Progression of Soft Palate Cancer in a Patient Treated with the Paleolithic Ketogenic Diet Alone: A 20-months Follow-up.” American Journal of Medical Case Reports, vol. 4, no. 8 (2016): 288-292. doi: 10.12691/ajmcr-4-8-8.
 

1. Introduction

Otto Warburg was the first to suggest that cancer emerges from abnormal cellular metabolism [1]. He postulated that key points in tumorigenesis include impaired oxidative phosphorilation, compensatory glycolysis and aerobic fermentation [1]. Utilization of fat for energy ultimately relies on the mitochondria and the associated metabolic pathways. Tumor cells, with dysfunctional mitochondria are unable to use ketones but largely depend on glucose for energy [2,3].

Based on this, adopting a ketogenic diet, which represent a shift from carbohydrates toward fat, has been repeatedly suggested as a promising option to treat cancer [3,4].

Encouraging studies in cancer patients with the ketogenic diet include a landmark study from 1995 reporting long-term survival in two children with brain tumor [5] and another case report which reported halted progression of glioblastoma for a few months [6]. In recent years several group studies have been carried out using the ketogenic diet in cancer.

Overall, these studies did confirm that the ketogenic diet is relatively safe [7,8] and may diminish side effects associated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy [9]. However, as regards hard clinical endpoints, such as survival, no clear evidence is coming from these group studies supporting that the ketogenic diet is indeed beneficial. In the study of Schmidt et al. [7] and that of Fine et al. [10] advanced cancer patients were put on the ketogenic diet.

In both studies [7,10] there was a tendency for halted disease progression in those patients adhering to the diet. However both studies were limited in follow-up duration with three and one months. In the ERGO study recurrent glioblastoma patients were put on the ketogenic diet but all patients progressed while on the diet [8]. In a retrospective study of Champ et al. [11] six glioblastoma patients were on the ketogenic diet for 3-12 months.

Survival benefit was uncertain, however, one patient showed no signs of recurrence at 12 months of diet therapy. In patients with tuberous sclerosis tumor progression was not halted by the ketogenic diet [12]. In the most recent study the ketogenic diet resulted in tumor regression in those patients with early stage cancer [13].

This study was however limited in duration too. An assessement of the available patient studies shows that there are two features common to all of them. First, the dietary therapy was used following and/or concurrently with radiation and/or chemotherapy. Second, all studies used the classical version of the ketogenic diet which is based on vegetable oils and/or also included dairy, formula feeding or supplements.

Ketosis is often viewed as an evolutionary adapted state in humans [14]. In their study Schmidt et al. [7] also cite Steffanson who studied and proposed the traditional diet of the Inuit which is actually an animal meat-fat diet [15]. The most comprehensive overview on the animal meat-fat diet is provided by gastroenterologist Voegtlin [16], who is rarely cited in the context of the ketogenic diets.

Considering ketosis as evolutionary adapted state combined with the knowledge on the diet of ancestral people [17], we propose that an ideal therapeutic diet in cancer would also rely on animal fat instead of vegetable-based oils used in previous clinical trials.

Accordingly, the authors of the present study are using a diet based on animal meat and fat, similar to that proposed by Steffanson [15] as well as Voegtlin [16]. In an attempt to distinguish this diet from both the classical ketogenic as well as the diet termed paleolithic in a series of clinical studies [18] and books [17], we refer the diet as paleolithic ketogenic. Previously we have published cases of type 1 [19,20], type 2 diabetes [21], epilepsy [22,23], Gilbert’s syndrome [24] and Crohn’s disease [25] where we successfully applied the diet.

Here we present a case with soft palate tumor of myoepithelial origin, an aggressive cancer type, where using the paleolithic ketogenic diet without any conventional treatment modalities resulted in halted progression of the tumor for 20 months, while producing no symptoms or side effects.