Clinical trial · Interventional
Ketogenic Diets as an Adjuvant Therapy in Glioblastoma
Ketogenic Diets as an Adjuvant Therapy in Glioblastoma: A Randomised Pilot Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Glioblastoma (GB) is the commonest form of brain cancer in adults. Despite current treatment options including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, overall survival is poor. Therefore, other treatment options are being explored and there is increasing interest in the possibility of using the ketogenic diet (KD), alongside current treatment options. The KD is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. This encourages the body to use fat (broken down to ketones) as its primary energy source, instead of carbohydrate (broken down to glucose, a type of sugar). KDs have been considered for use in patients with GB as this type of cancer is thought to use glucose as its main energy supply, which is of short supply in this diet. Animal studies have shown KDs may make GB more responsive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and could improve survival by slowing the cancer's growth. However, clinical studies are needed in humans to assess any possible benefits. This trial will see patients randomly assigned to one of two types of KDs; the modified ketogenic diet (MKD) and the medium chain triglyceride ketogenic diet (MCT). Both diets follow the same high fat, low carbohydrate principles, with the MCT diet requiring the patient to take some of the fat as a supplement drink instead of as food. Patients will follow the diet for 12 weeks initially. The trial will look to enroll newly diagnosed GB patients, from The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust over a 12 month period. The aim of the trial is to investigate protocol feasibility and patient impact by comparing two KDs in an NHS setting, with a view to informing future phase III clinical trials.
Conditions
Conditions (3)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glioblastoma | Glioblastoma | CURATED_BROADER | 0.80 |
| Glioblastoma, Adult | Adult Glioblastoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Glioblastoma Multiforme | Glioblastoma | CURATED_BROADER | 0.80 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCT | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
| MKD | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Modified ketogenic diet (MKD)
- description
- MKD: 80% fat and 5% carbohydrate (% of total energy requirements per day).
- interventionNames
- Other: MKD
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Medium chain triglyceride (MCT) diet
- description
- MCT: 75% fat (30% of which is medium chain fatty acids taken as a supplement) and 5% carbohydrate (% of total energy requirements per day).
- interventionNames
- Other: MCT
Primary outcomes (4)
- measure
- To assess retention and drop out rates
- timeFrame
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 16 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥16 years * Patient at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust * Performance status ≤2 * Confirmed histological diagnosis of glioblastoma * Undergone surgical resection or biopsy and will go onto receive/ is receiving/ has received oncological treatments Exclusion Criteria: * Having prior use of KD * Kidney dysfunction * Liver dysfunction * Gall bladder dysfunction * Metabolic disorder * Eating disorder * Diabetes (requiring medication) * Body mass index ≤ 18.5kg/m2 * Weight loss medications * Currently pregnant or breast feeding * Performance status ≥3
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDMartin-McGill KJ, Marson AG, Tudur Smith C, Jenkinson MD. Ketogenic diets as an adjuvant therapy in glioblastoma (the KEATING trial): study protocol for a randomised pilot study. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2017 Nov 28;3:67. doi: 10.1186/s40814-017-0209-9. eCollection 2017. PMID 29209515