Older breast cancer survivors with cardiometabolic risk factors who restrict food intake to eight hours during the weekday, followed by 16 hours of fasting, may lower their risk of cardiovascular disease after a few weeks, according to a research letter published May 17 in JACC: CardioOncology.

Amy A. Kirkham, PhD, et al., looked at 22 individuals with a body mass index who were classified as overweight or obese (>25kg/m²), had completed cardiotoxic treatment (anthracyclines, a commonly used chemotherapy drug) within the past one to six years, and were an average age of 66 years. For eight weeks, participants were allowed to eat freely between 12-8 p.m. on weekdays and at any time on the weekends. Outside of those hours, participants were asked to consume only water, black coffee or black tea.

Using the Canadian Cardiovascular Society scoring system to calculate the 10-year Framingham Risk Score, results showed that cardiovascular risk decreased from 10.9% (IQR: 8.6% to 13.7%) to 8.6% (IQR: 7.6% to 10.0%), a −15% relative change (P=0.037) at the end of the trial period.

In addition, the modifiable Framingham components (i.e., total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and systolic blood pressure) did not significantly change overall, indicating interindividual differences in each of these measures and the risk reduction etiology.

“Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and to evaluate the health benefits, including potential health care cost savings and safety of longer-term [time-restricted eating],” the authors conclude.

“This rigorously designed, well-executed single-arm feasibility study generates important hypotheses and questions about the role of time restricted eating relevant to cancer survivors,” commented Bonnie Ky, MD, MSCE, FACC, editor-in-chief of JACC: CardioOncology. “For example, what is the basis of the inter-individual variation of the response to time restricted eating in the Framingham Risk Score, and will this help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from this strategy? How does diet quality affect these findings? We look forward to seeing research using practical lifestyle interventions continue to evolve and advance to improve the lives of our patients and survivors.”

Clinical Topics: Cardio-Oncology, Cardiovascular Care Team, Dyslipidemia, Prevention, Lipid Metabolism, Nonstatins, Diet

Keywords: Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Water, Obesity, Eating, Cholesterol, Anthracyclines, Health Care Costs, Lipoproteins, HDL, Risk Reduction Behavior, Survivors, Risk Factors, Overweight, Fasting, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Breast Neoplasms, Blood Pressure, Feasibility Studies, Body Mass Index, Cancer Survivors, Cardiovascular Diseases

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