One of the most interesting bits of research that was recently published isn't even about cancer. The paper, 'Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet', published in the journal Cell Metabolism, looks at the effect of feeding times on a range of metabolic indicators. It shows that by restricting mice to set feeding times and preserving a long fast, the damaging effects of a high-fat and high-carb diet are overcome. Now while cancer isn't mentioned in this research, there are now converging lines of evidence to point to a very strong metabolic component to cancer - and it goes beyond the idea of tumours as being glucose-hungry all the time.
The authors of the paper point out that many people have been encouraged to eat little and often, and that snacking is now endemic in our culture. But the body evolved a set of responses that are cyclic, like the circadian rhythm that controls sleep/wake times. By eating constantly we disrupt this rhythm. Again, there's a link here to cancer in that disrupted circadian rhythms are also implicated in carcinogenesis.
Add to this evidence that selecting fasting improves chemotherapy response (as discussed here: http://www.anticancer.org.uk/2012/02/fasting-and-chemotherapy.html) and you have an argument that says selective fasting, cutting out snacking and taking melatonin to improve circadian rhythms are valid anti-cancer interventions that are not toxic, cheap and can be tried both for cancer-prevention and to improve response to therapy for cancer patients.
