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Preoperative Ketogenic Diet for Reduction of Hepatic Steatosis

Implementation of a Preoperative Ketogenic Diet for Reduction of Hepatic Steatosis Prior to Hepatectomy: a Randomized Control Trial

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05884723
Enrollment
124
Registered
2023-06-01
Start date
2024-05-01
Completion date
2032-12-01
Last updated
2026-05-19

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Liver Metastasis Colon Cancer, Liver Steatoses, NAFLD

Keywords

ketogenic diet, NAFLD, colorectal liver metastases

Brief summary

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is becoming increasingly common in Canada and throughout the world. Fatty liver can increase the risks of perioperative complications for those who need liver surgery. A ketogenic diet is low in carbohydrates and can be very effective in reducing liver fat content. The purpose of this randomized control trial is to compare the effect of a short duration (4 week) preoperative ketogenic diet on operative and disease outcomes in patients undergoing liver surgery. One arm will be randomized to the ketogenic diet and the other will receive standard of care pre-operative dietary consultation.

Detailed description

The rise in obesity has contributed to increasing rates of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Canada and globally. In the setting of liver surgery, fatty liver has been associated with higher rates of blood loss during surgery as well as higher rates of postoperative complications. A pre-operative ketogenic diet (KD) has been proposed as a strategy to decrease the risks of fatty liver in patients undergoing liver surgery and has shown promising results in reducing liver fat content, even with short-duration diets. The current literature contains a large variety of pre-operative diets aimed at reducing liver fat content and most studies are observational. Presently, there is no randomized control trial looking at the effects of a well-formulated and standardized KD prior to liver surgery and its effect on operative and disease outcomes. This study will randomize patients with NAFLD needing surgery to remove liver tumors to either the control group or intervention group. Patients in the control group will receive dietary consultation for a standard of care diet as recommended by Canada's Food Guide. Patients in the intervention group will consult with a dietician before starting a 4-week preoperative well-formulated very low carbohydrate KD. All participants will track daily nutritional intake and provide weekly summary reports via an app called Cronometer. The investigators will analyze differences in intraoperative blood loss and OR time, postoperative complications, disease recurrence and mortality rates between the two groups.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTKetogenic Diet

4-week preoperative well-formulated very low carbohydrate isocaloric diet consisting of 50g net daily carbohydrates and 1.5g/kg protein with the remaining energy needs consisting of primarily mono- and polyunsaturated fats

Sponsors

Anton Skaro
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Caregiver, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

The surgeons, surgical team, and data abstractors will be blinded to participant randomization

Intervention model description

preoperative ketogenic diet group vs control standard of care preoperative diet

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients 18 years of age or older undergoing any type of liver resection (e.g. wedge, formal hepatectomy), either open or laparoscopic, for colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) * Patients with evidence of hepatic steatosis on pre-operative imaging (CT or MR) or biopsy. * Ability to use an app based nutritional program to track macronutrient uptake throughout the dietary intervention.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients undergoing liver resection for any other indication * Patients on sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors (these are contraindicated with a ketogenic diet). * Patients without evidence of hepatic steatosis. * Patients with evidence of liver fibrosis or cirrhosis on preoperative bloodwork or imaging. * Patients with alcohol-related hepatic steatosis. * Patients with a known bleeding disorder.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Perioperative blood transfusionpostoperative days 0-7receipt (binary) of packed red blood cell (pRBC) units intraoperatively and during the immediate postoperative time period (POD 0 - 7)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Amount of perioperative blood transfusionpostoperative days 0-7Number of pRBC units transfused
Intraoperative blood lossOperative periodIntraoperative blood loss: measured by net sponge weight and fluid suctioned minus irrigation fluid
SteatosisTime of primary surgeryLevel of steatosis in liver resection specimen
Change in steatosis~6 weeksChange in steatosis in liver pre-diet vs day of surgery
Operative timeDuring primary surgerytime from surgery start to surgery stop
Postoperative complicationsPostoperative days 0-30Postoperative complications (measured via the Clavien-Dindo Index) will be assessed within 30 days of the operation.
Postoperative length of hospital stayPostoperative days 0-30Postoperative length of hospital stay will be assessed.
Postoperative hospital readmissionPostoperative days 0-30Hospital readmission will be assessed within 30 days of the operation
Postoperative rates of reoperationPostoperative days 0-30Reoperation rates will be assessed within 30 days of the initial surgery.
Postoperative liver failurePostoperative days 0-30Liver failure rates will be assessed within 30 days of the initial surgery.
Postoperative mortalityPostoperative days 0-30Mortality rates will be assessed within 30 days of the initial surgery.
Adherence to ketogenic diet4 weekswhether participants adhered to the diet assigned to them
Disease recurrence0 - 5 years postoperativelyTime to disease recurrence will be assessed up to 5 years postoperatively.
Measurement of circulating cell-free tumor DNA0 - 5 years postoperativelyCirculating cell-free tumour DNA levels will be measured up to 5 years postoperatively.
Cancer-related mortality0 - 5 years postoperativelyCancer-related mortality rates will be assessed up to 5 years postoperatively.

Countries

Canada

Contacts

CONTACTAnton Skaro, MD PhD
Anton.Skaro@lhsc.on.ca519-685-8500
CONTACTCrystal Engelage, PhD
Crystal.Engelage@lhsc.on.ca519-685-8500
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAnton Skaro, MD PhD

London Health Sciences Centre/Lawson Health Research Institute

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 20, 2026