ASCO: Fasting Before and After Chemo May Up Efficacy in Serous Ovarian Cancer

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By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com

via HealthDay

MONDAY, June 1, 2026 -- For women with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer (OC), short-term fasting (STF) may enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held from May 29 to June 2 in Chicago.

Claudia Marchetti, M.D., from Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Rome, and colleagues conducted a prospective, pilot, randomized trial involving women with advanced high-grade serous OC receiving carboplatin/paclitaxel-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Participants were randomly assigned to STF (36 hours before to 24 hours after each cycle) or a free diet (FD). Insulin reduction after three NACT cycles was the primary end point.

In each arm, 18 patients completed three NACT cycles. The researchers found that after NACT, there was an increase in insulin in FD and a decrease in STF (+9.76 versus −1.12 µIU/mL). A greater insulin increase was seen for patients who did not undergo interval cytoreductive surgery (ICS) after three cycles compared with those who underwent surgery (+11.46 versus +1.35 µIU/mL). A chemotherapy response score of 3 occurred more frequently at ICS in STF than FD (58.8 versus 17.6 percent). Median progression-free survival was longer in the STF than the FD arm after a median follow-up of 18 months (38 versus 24 months).

"Despite advancements in surgery and chemotherapy, patients with advanced ovarian cancer still face poor outcomes," Marchetti said in a statement. "This highlights the urgent need for safe, low-cost, and easily implementable strategies that can enhance treatment efficacy and improve patient prognosis."

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-06-02 04:28

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