Glioma Modified Atkins-based Diet in Patients With Glioblastoma (GLAD)

The Feasibility and Biologic Effect of a Modified Atkins-based Intermittent Fasting Diet in Patients With Glioblastoma (GBM)

The primary goal of this study is to assess the feasibility and biologic activity of a modified Atkins-based diet combined with short-term intermittent fasting, a GLioma Atkins-based Diet (GLAD), in patients with central nervous system GBM.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Glioblastoma Multiforme
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Diet modification

Detailed Description

Malignant gliomas have a high glycolytic rate and are dependent on glucose for energy metabolism. This so called "Warburg effect" or the reliance of central nervous system (CNS) tumor cells on glucose utilization through glycolysis has been identified as a potential therapeutic target in cancer metabolism. Preclinically, reduced cerebral glucose via calorie restriction has been repeatedly associated with tumor reduction and improved survival in glioma animal models. Such work has led to several early clinical studies evaluating the ketogenic diet (KD) in patients with recurrent GBM.

The modified Atkins diet (MAD) is designed to provide a more palatable, less restrictive but effective alternative to the strict KD, particularly for adults. The MAD does not require inpatient admission for initial fast, weight of foods, or severe dietary restrictions and is generally well tolerated, easier to administer, and more practical for adults. The MAD lacks calorie restriction, an important component to dietary therapies in preclinical investigations. Emerging evidence also suggests that short term fasting may provide superior anti-cancer activity to long term calorie restriction and that these benefits have been observed without substantial weight loss that can be observed with longer term calorie restriction.

In glioma patients, a diet therapy that combines the broad clinical application of the MAD with the caloric impact of short-term intermittent fasting is therefore optimal. Moreover, initiation of this diet when the cancer has already undergone induction therapy and is clinically and radiographically stable, may provide the optimal time for metabolic intervention to prevent recurrence or progression.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 25
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
      • The Johns Hopkins Hospital
  • North Carolina
    • Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27157
      • Wake Forest School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients must have a clinical and histopathologic diagnosis of GBM, have completed >80% of prescribed concurrent radiation therapy and adjuvant temozolomide without CTCEA grade 3 or 4 toxicity, and be greater than 7 months from the time of completion of concurrent chemoradiotherapy.
2. Karnofsky performance status >/= 60.
3. Patients must be at least 18 years of age.
4. Patients must be eligible to undergo a ketogenic or Atkins based diet according to baseline body mass index (BMI, see exclusion criteria), comorbid medical conditions (see exclusion criteria), and baseline laboratory assessment (see exclusion criteria).
5. Patients must be of appropriate mental capacities with sufficient social support so as to be able to complete required study activities (i.e. diet record, etc) and able to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with a history of a metabolic disorder including documented defect in urea metabolism (including documented history of gout), carnitine deficiency (primary carnitine deficiency, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I or II deficiency, carnitine translocase deficiency), fatty acid metabolism, beta-oxidation defects, pyruvate carboxylase deficiency, mitochondrial function, porphyria, or nephrolithiasis.
2. Severe acute infection.
3. BMI > 35.0 or BMI < 20.0.
4. Active bowel obstruction, ileus, or active or remote pancreatitis.
5. Clinically significant heart failure (NYHA >2), recent myocardial infarction, or symptomatic atrial fibrillation.
6. Clinically significant renal disease (creatinine >2.0 mg/dL, urea >100 mg/dL).
7. Clinically significant hepatic dysfunction (alanine or aspartate aminotransferase >7 times the upper limit of normal).
8. Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
9. Conditions that may increase the risk of the diet or significantly reduce compliance (i.e. cognitive impairment, frank dementia, etc).
10. Other concurrent experimental therapies.
11. Milk allergy.
12. Treatment with the modified Atkins diet (MAD) for any cause within the 9 months prior to study enrollment
13. Patient inability to complete baseline screening 3-day diet record.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Single arm diet; Intermittent, modified Atkins diet	Other: Diet modification; All patients will be participate in the intermittent, modified Atkins diet

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of intermittent modified Atkins diet in patients with GBM assessed by percent of patients able to remain on the diet and achieve nutritional goals	Percent of patients able to remain on the diet and achieve nutritional goals as defined by cumulative assessment of diet records collected at weeks 4, 6, and 8 with a 60% completion defined as a positive results	8 weeks per patient

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Biologic activity measured by pre- and post-study cerebral glutamate and glutamine concentrations assessed by MRS.	Measured by pre- and post-study cerebral glutamate and glutamine concentrations assessed by MRS.	8 weeks per patient
Tolerability assessed by percent of patients who have an adverse reaction of any grade attributed to the diet of possible, probable, or definite	Percent of patients who have an adverse reaction of any grade attributed to the diet of possible, probable, or definite	8 weeks per patient
Dietary Activity	Dietary compliance will be assessed by serial changes in serum glucose, ketones, weight trajectory, body fat composition, change in seizure frequency without AED adjustment	8 weeks per patient

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences
• Collaborators: Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Roy E. Strowd, MD, Wake Forest University Health Sciences; Principal Investigator: Jaishri O. Blakeley, MD, Johns Hopkins University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Schreck KC, Hsu FC, Berrington A, Henry-Barron B, Vizthum D, Blair L, Kossoff EH, Easter L, Whitlow CT, Barker PB, Cervenka MC, Blakeley JO, Strowd RE. Feasibility and Biological Activity of a Ketogenic/Intermittent-Fasting Diet in Patients With Glioma. Neurology. 2021 Aug 31;97(9):e953-e963. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012386. Epub 2021 Jul 7.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 3, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): July 12, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 5, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 6, 2014
• First Posted (Estimated): November 7, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 24, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: glioma; ketogenic diet; modified-Atkins diet; central nervous system malignancy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Astrocytoma; Neoplasms, Neuroepithelial; Neuroectodermal Tumors; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal; Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue; Glioblastoma; Glioma; Therapeutics; Nutrition Therapy; Diet Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB00037347; CCCWFU 99116 (Other Identifier: Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No