Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Mar;54(1):61-83.
doi: 10.1016/j.ecl.2024.10.007.

Intermittent Fasting: Implications for Obesity-Related Colorectal Tumorigenesis

Beatriz Peñalver Bernabé  1 , Manoela Lima Oliveira  2 , Patricia G Wolf  3 , Andrew McLeod  2 , Kelsey Gabel  4 , Kate Cares  5 , Nadia Robinson  6 , Brittany DiPiazza  5 , Krista Varady  5 , Lisa Tussing-Humphreys  7
Affiliations
Review

Intermittent Fasting: Implications for Obesity-Related Colorectal Tumorigenesis

Beatriz Peñalver Bernabé et al. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Obesity is associated with metabolic and immune perturbations (ie, insulin resistance, increased inflammation, and oxidative stress), circadian rhythm dysregulation, and gut microbial changes that can promote colorectal tumorigenesis. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most incident cancer in the United States. This narrative review examines the effects of intermittend fasting on factors influencing colon tumorigenesis, such as body weight, metabolic and immune markers, circadian rythm, and the gut microbiota in humans. Findings suggest that intermittent fasting regimens can lead to weight loss and shifts in metabolic markers, which could be preventive for CRC but effects on the gut microbiota composition and functions still remains elusive.

Keywords: Circadian rhythm; Colorectal cancer; Gut microbiome; Intermittent fasting; Obesity.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Pati S, Irfan W, Jameel A, Ahmed S, Shahid RK. Obesity and Cancer: A Current Overview of Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Outcomes, and Management. Cancers (Basel). Jan 12 2023;15(2)doi: 10.3390/cancers15020485 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kawai T, Autieri MV, Scalia R. Adipose tissue inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in obesity. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol Mar 1 2021;320(3):C375–c391. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00379.2020 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Harris BHL, Macaulay VM, Harris DA, et al. Obesity: a perfect storm for carcinogenesis. Cancer Metastasis Rev Sep 2022;41(3):491–515. doi: 10.1007/s10555-022-10046-2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mandic M, Li H, Safizadeh F, Niedermaier T, Hoffmeister M, Brenner H. Is the association of overweight and obesity with colorectal cancer underestimated? An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Eur J Epidemiol Feb 2023;38(2):135–144. doi: 10.1007/s10654-022-00954-6 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Society AC. Colorectal Cancer Facts & Figures 2023–2025. 2023.