Fasting-Mimicking Diets to Reduce Ovarian Cancer Recurrence Risk

After ovarian cancer treatment ends, many patients live with one constant worry: will it come back? People tend to feel this fear and look carefully at their lifestyle, particularly diet, to know what they can do.

The fasting-mimicking diet is one strategy that has recently become popular. Although not a cure or guarantee, studies indicate that it can affect factors associated with cancer development and progression.

What is a fasting-mimicking diet?

A fasting-mimicking diet is a temporary meal plan that is highly deficient in calories, sugar, and protein over several days. It is crafted to produce similar effects to fasting, but the body does not go without nutrients entirely. Unlike complete fasting, it is usually followed for about four to five days and then stopped.

Why are researchers interested in it?

Cancer cells depend heavily on sugar and growth signals to survive and multiply. When calorie intake drops sharply for a short time, the body reduces levels of insulin and other growth-related hormones. Healthy cells can adapt to this change, but cancer cells find it harder to do so. This difference is what researchers are trying to understand.

What does the research say?

A 2020 study published in Nature Communications found that fasting-mimicking diet cycles in cancer patients reduced insulin and IGF-1 levels, hormones linked to tumor growth, and improved immune responses that help the body recognize and fight cancer cells. The study did not focus only on ovarian cancer recurrence, but these biological changes are considered important in understanding how cancer grows and returns.

Relevance for ovarian cancer survivors

At present, there is no strong clinical evidence showing that a fasting-mimicking diet can directly prevent ovarian cancer from coming back. However, the changes seen in studies suggest it may support the body in ways that could be helpful when combined with standard medical care.

It is also important to remember that many ovarian cancer survivors experience fatigue, weight loss, or nutritional deficiencies. For them, unsupervised fasting can cause more harm than benefit.

Should you try it?

A fasting-mimicking diet is not suitable for everyone. It should never be started without speaking to an oncologist or a qualified nutrition professional, especially during or after cancer treatment.

For many patients, focusing on regular follow-ups, balanced meals, gentle physical activity, and overall well-being may be safer and more effective.

Fasting-mimicking diets are an active area of research and show promise in how they affect cancer-related processes in the body. However, they are not a proven way to prevent ovarian cancer recurrence. Making informed decisions based on evidence, rather than fear, is key.