“Keto” Molecule May Be Useful in Preventing and Treating Colorectal Cancer, Penn Study SuggestsApril 27, 2022A molecule produced in the liver in response to low-carb “ketogenic” diets has a powerful effect in suppressing colorectal tumor growth and may be useful as a preventive and treatment of such cancers, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
In the study, published in Nature, researchers initially found that mice on low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diets have a striking resistance to colorectal tumor development and growth. The scientists then traced this effect to beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), a small organic molecule produced in the liver in response to keto diets or starvation.
“Our findings suggest that this natural molecule, BHB, could someday become a standard part of colorectal cancer care and prevention,” said study co-senior author Maayan Levy, PhD, an assistant professor of Microbiology at Penn Medicine, whose laboratory collaborated with the lab of Christoph Thaiss, PhD, also an assistant professor of Microbiology. The study’s first author was Oxana Dmitrieva-Posocco, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Levy’s lab.
https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2022/april/keto-molecule-may-be-useful-in-preventing-and-treating-colorectal-cancer-penn-study-suggests