Published : 07 Oct 2026, 01:26 PM
Updated : 07 Oct 2026, 01:26 PM
A ketogenic diet may increase the growth of small intestinal tumours while suppressing colon tumours, a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers has found in genetically engineered mice.
The findings, published in journal Nature, showed that cancer-prone mice given a ketogenic diet developed small intestinal tumours more often than those on a control diet, despite not becoming obese, ScienceDaily reports.
The team found that ketone bodies such as beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) were not driving the tumour growth.
Instead, the effect was linked to increased fatty acid oxidation, which activates proteins known as PPARs and prompts intestinal stem cells to divide more rapidly.
Omer Yilmaz, senior author of the study and director of the MIT Stem Cell Initiative, said the findings show that the same diet can have different effects even in nearby tissues.
The researchers also found the opposite effect in the colon, where the ketogenic diet suppressed tumour formation.
The result was consistent with earlier research suggesting a protective effect against colon cancer, but the new study found that ketone bodies were not responsible.
Lead author Fangtao Chi said the team is now investigating why the diet produces contrasting effects in two adjacent parts of the gut.
The findings also suggest that commercial ketone supplements would not be expected to reproduce either effect, since both changes were tied to fat metabolism rather than ketones themselves, according to the American science website.
Researchers said the findings may be particularly relevant to people with inherited conditions that increase susceptibility to intestinal cancer, such as familial adenomatous polyposis. They also pointed to a rise in small intestinal tumours in recent decades.
Ketogenic diets, first developed in the 1920s to treat epilepsy, have since become popular for weight loss and other health purposes.
The researchers said the growing use of the diet makes it important to understand its different effects across tissues.
