Summary
Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) has reached Preclinical as its most advanced recorded development stage across any indication, and the database holds no approval for Cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 3 registered trials linking Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) to Cancer: 1 is currently recruiting; 1 has completed; 1 is terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT05894954). It plans or enrolled 73 participants. Registration activity spans 2022 to 2025. No published literature item is linked to Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) and Cancer in the OSMF database yet, so the record rests on registry entries alone. Registry entries describe intent to study, not outcomes.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Cancer ranks 1226 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: Spontaneous regression is rare (<0.5% of cases); 5-year survival without treatment: <5% for advanced NSCLC; ~20% for stage I-II with surgery.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | C · Preliminary |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 13.0 (trials 8.0, literature 0.0, tier 5, approved bonus 0.0) |
| Registered trials | 3 total: 1 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 1 completed, 1 other |
| Linked publications | 0 |
| Agent type | Behavioural (Lifestyle) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Preclinical |
| Mechanism / class | Cancer metabolism as a therapeutic target and review of interventions · Halma M, Tuszynski JA · 2023 |
| Data sources | OSMF Chronic Disease Review |
How the evidence score is calculated
- Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
- Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
- The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
- Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
- The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.
Registered clinical trials
| NCT ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT05894954 | Precision Medicine Approach for Early Dementia & Mild Cognitive Impairment 2023 | completed | Phase 3 | 73 |
| NCT05564949 | A Ketogenic Diet as a Complementary Treatment on Patients With High-grade Gliomas and Brain Metastases 2022 | recruiting | Not applicable | 15 |
| NCT06391099 | Ketogenic Dietary Intervention to Improve Response to Immunotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Melanoma and Metastatic Kidney Cancer 2025 | suspended | Not applicable | 60 |
Published literature
No publication is linked to this pair yet.
Mechanism and notes
Recorded mechanism or class: Cancer metabolism as a therapeutic target and review of interventions · Halma M, Tuszynski JA · 2023.
OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is C (Preliminary), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in OSMF Chronic Disease Review. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) approved for Cancer?
Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) has reached Preclinical as its most advanced recorded development stage across any indication, and the database holds no approval for Cancer. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) in clinical trials for Cancer?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 3 registered trials linking Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) to Cancer: 1 is currently recruiting; 1 has completed; 1 is terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 3 (NCT05894954). It plans or enrolled 73 participants. Registration activity spans 2022 to 2025.
What does the evidence show for Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) in Cancer?
Ketogenic diet (Glucose management) has 1 completed registered trial for Cancer but no linked publication, which usually means results are unpublished, pending, or not yet matched to this record. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is C (Preliminary), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in OSMF Chronic Disease Review. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.