The Role of Ketogenic Diets in Cancer Treatment

Episode 164: Dominic D'Agostino, PhD of the University of South Florida discusses his lab's research onto various treatment therapies for cancer including nutritional ketosis, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and metabolic drugs. Dr. D'agostino is an Assistant Professor at the College Of Medicine Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology at the University of South Florida. The primary focus of his laboratory is developing and testing metabolic-based therapies, including ketogenic diets, ketone esters, ketone supplements and metabolic-based drugs. His research also explores the use of these metabolic therapies for a broad range of disorders linked pathophysiologically to metabolic dysregulation, including seizures, neurological disorders, wound healing, muscle wasting and cancer. The laboratory uses in vivo and in vitro techniques to understand the physiological, cellular and molecular mechanism of metabolic therapies.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• Cancer as a metabolic disease
• Potential mechanisms of action for ketosis being a beneficial metabolic state in cancer patients
• Ketosis, calorie restriction, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and metabolic drugs as adjunct therapies in cancer treatment
• Possible future avenues of research
• What research needs to be done for this research to become seen more in front-line clinical practice
• Barriers to implementation