The impact of a fasting mimicking diet on the metabolic health of a prospective cohort of patients with prostate cancer: a pilot implementation study

• Published in: Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases 2023-06, Vol.26 (2), p.317-322
• Main Authors: Fay-Watt, V., O’Connor, S., Roshan, D., Romeo, A. C., Longo, V. D., Sullivan, F. J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/699/2768/1753/466; 692/699/2768/589/466; 692/699/67/1059; 692/699/67/2195; 692/699/67/2327; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Blood Pressure; Calories; Cancer Research; Clinical outcomes; Clinical trials; Diet; Dietary restrictions; Endocrine therapy; Fasting; Health risks; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - complications; Hypertension - drug therapy; Male; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome - complications; Metabolic Syndrome - epidemiology; Mimicry; Prospective Studies; Prostate cancer; Prostatic Neoplasms - complications; Prostatic Neoplasms - diagnosis; Prostatic Neoplasms - epidemiology; Quality of Life; Reproductive Medicine; Risk factors; Toxicity; Weight; Weight control
• ISSN: 1365-7852; 1476-5608
• DOI: 10.1038/s41391-022-00528-3

Background This pilot prospective study investigated the effect of a periodic fasting mimicking diet (FMD) on metabolic health factors in patients with Prostate Cancer (PC). There is a well-documented association between PC and metabolic health. Impaired metabolic health is a significant risk factor for the development of PC, and a metabolic syndrome can be induced by hormonal therapies commonly required for its management. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04292041). Methods We introduced a periodic 4-day FMD -low in calories, sugars, and proteins but high in unsaturated fats -to a cohort of PC patients and features of metabolic syndrome. 29/35 patients completed 3-monthly cycles of the 4-consecutive day packaged FMD. We compared the subjects’ baseline weight, abdominal circumference (AC), blood pressure (BP) and selected laboratory results to the same measurements 3-months after completing the FMD cycles. Results Several important metabolic factors showed improvements post-intervention. On average patients’ weights dropped by 3.79 kg (95% CI: −5.61, −1.97, p  = 0.0002). AC was reduced on average by 4.57 cm, (95% CI: −2.27, −6.87, p  = 0.0003). There was also a decrease in systolic and diastolic BP by 9.52 mmHg (95% CI: −16.16, −2.88, p  = 0.0066) and 4.48 mmHg (95% CI: −8.85, −0.43, p  = 0.0316) respectively. A sub-analysis indicates that FMD had more relevant effects in ‘at-risk’ patients than those with normal values of risk factors for metabolic syndrome. For example, subjects with baseline levels of systolic BP > 130 mmHg experienced a greater reduction in BP(−16.04 mmHg, p  = 0.0001) than those with baseline systolic BP