Study summary · research use only
Ketone Bodies Induce Unique Inhibition of Tumor Cell Proliferation and Enhance the Efficacy of Anti-Cancer Agents
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This in vitro study used human cancer cell lines (colon, ovarian, cervical, and breast) to examine ketone bodies — sodium and lithium salts of acetoacetate (AcAc) and sodium 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-HB) — on tumor cell proliferation. Building on earlier work where sodium acetoacetate (NaAcAc) reduced growth of the SW480 colon cancer line, the authors report similar findings in other lines and describe NaAcAc as blocking proliferation rather than killing cells. Lithium ion (as LiCl) alone showed similar growth inhibition, with LiAcAc's effect attributed to combined acetoacetate and lithium actions. Combined with rapamycin, methotrexate, and the peptide agent PNC-27, ketone bodies lowered the IC50 values needed to kill cancer cells, which the authors suggest may make ketogenic diets a useful adjunct.
Abstract
The ketone bodies, sodium and lithium salts of acetoacetate (AcAc) and sodium 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-HB; commonly called beta-hydroxybutyrate) have been found to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Previous studies have suggested that lithium itself may be an inhibiting agent but may be additive or synergistic with the effect of AcAc. We previously found that sodium acetoacetate (NaAcAc) inhibits the growth of human colon cancer cell line SW480. We report here similar results for several other cancer cell lines including ovarian, cervical and breast cancers. We found that NaAcAc does not kill cancer cells but rather blocks their proliferation. Similar inhibition of growth was seen in the effect of lithium ion alone (as LiCl). The effect of LiAcAc appears to be due to the combined effects of acetoacetate and the lithium ion. The ketone bodies, when given together with chemotherapeutic agents, rapamycin, methotrexate and the new peptide anti-cancer agent, PNC-27, substantially lowers their IC50 values for cancer cell, killing suggesting that ketone bodies and ketogenic diets may be powerful adjunct agents in treating human cancers.
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