Colorectal cancer therapy and nutrition: From ultra-processed consumption to metabolic reprogramming

Table 3 Characteristics and main findings of a preclinical study on the ketogenic diet in colorectal cancer

Ref.	Model	Dietary intervention	Main metabolic findings
Montroseand Galluzzi[113], 2022	Immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice, MC38 and CT26 strains (sex not specified)	Ketogenic diet	Effective reduction of MC38 tumor growth; increased sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors (PD-1)
Tsenkova et al[114], 2025	C57BL/6 mice (no sex specified)	Ketogenic diet and stearic acid-supplemented diet	Reduction of colonic tumor burden; induction of apoptosis in cancer cells; ketogenic diet altered the composition and function of the microbiota, enriching stearic acid producers and reducing consumers
Sun et al[115], 2022	Male BALB/c mice	Ketogenic diet	Inhibition of tumor growth; increased antitumor immune response; attenuation of immunosuppression; inhibition of angiogenesis
Jiang et al[116], 2024	Male C57BL/6 mice	Ketogenic diet + chemotherapy	Reduced tumor growth; increased apoptosis; increased sensitivity to chemotherapy