About this trial
Activating the immune system to kill cancer cells is a promising therapeutic strategy for some patients with cancer. Unfortunately, current immune-targeting treatments do not work for patients with prostate cancer. In animal models of cancer, fasting can reprogram the body's metabolism and immune cell function to help immune cells kill cancer cells likely by increasing ketosis. The purpose of this study is to determine whether 7 days of water-only fasting or a ketogenic very low-calorie diet or ketone supplementation is safe and feasible for patients with prostate cancer. This will help the investigators develop future studies to test whether incorporating periods of fasting or very low calorie diets or a ketone supplement into treatment plans for prostate cancer can improve outcomes from this disease.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status 0 or 1
Age ≥18 years
Diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the prostate
If a soft tissue metastasis amenable to biopsy is present, then the participant must agree to biopsies.
Disqualifiers
ECOG Performance status ≥2
Unintentional weight loss greater than or equal to 5% in previous 3 months
Diabetes mellitus, defined as HbA1c ≥6.5% or use of medications for diabetes
Active uncontrolled infection. Patients with a history of HIV/AIDS may be eligible if CD4+ T cell counts are ≥ 350 cell/ul, the patients have had no opportunistic infection within the past 12 months, they have been on established antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least four weeks, and the HIV viral load is less than 400 copies/ml prior to enrollment. Patients with a history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are eligible if the patients have completed curative antiviral treatment and the HCV viral load is below the limit of quantification.
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Fasting
- Ketone Supplementation
Treatment groups
Sponsors and collaborators
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
Lead sponsor
Abott Lingo Wearables
Collaborator
United States Department of Defense
Collaborator
Prostate Cancer Foundation
Collaborator