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- Posted June 1, 2026
Short-Term Fasting Could Boost Chemo Response in Ovarian Cancer, Study Suggests
A simple change in meal timing may help improve outcomes for women with the most common and aggressive form of ovarian cancer, a new study suggests.
"Despite advancements in surgery and chemotherapy, patients with advanced ovarian cancer still face poor outcomes," said lead study author Claudia Marchetti of the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic Foundation in Rome. "This [study] highlights the urgent need for safe, low-cost and easily implementable strategies that can enhance treatment efficacy and improve patient prognosis."
Researchers tested short-term fasting in 36 women with stage 3 or stage 4 high-grade serous ovarian cancer who were receiving chemotherapy before surgery.
Patients were assigned to either continue their normal diets or fast for 36 hours before chemotherapy and 24 hours after each treatment.
The results: Women who fasted were more likely to experience a stronger tumor response to the chemotherapy. They also went longer without their cancer progressing — 38 months, compared to 24 months for women eating normally.
The researchers think fasting helps lower insulin, a hormone that can send growth and survival signals to cancer cells.
In this study, insulin rose in the control group but dropped in the fasting group.
Marchetti said women with advanced ovarian cancer still face poor outcomes, highlighting the "urgent need" for safe, low-cost strategies that may help improve treatment response.
The researchers are continuing to study how fasting affects the body, immune system and response to chemotherapy. Larger clinical trials are planned.
The findings were scheduled for presentation in Chicago at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. It concludes June 2.
Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more on ovarian cancer.
SOURCE: HealthDay TV, June 1, 2026
