Modifying Your Diet to Support Muscle During Cancer Treatment.

September 21, 2023 updated by: University of Alberta

Dairy Products to Maintain Muscle Mass in People Undergoing Treatment for Lung Cancer

In a person with cancer, low muscle mass and strength increases the risks of suffering from severe complications of the disease, its treatment, and dying. To prevent muscle loss in cancer, stimulating muscle protein anabolism (growth) by fueling muscles with protein is crucial. Dairy products are not only a source of high-quality protein but are a preferred food choice for cancer patients as they progress through chemotherapy treatment. Although commercially available oral nutritional supplements containing essential amino acids are often promoted for protein anabolism, these products are not preferred by cancer patients. Moreover, our research group has shown that patients consuming oral nutritional supplements actually lose more weight than those who chose regular whole-food items. Evidence of the health effects of consuming dairy products is needed to influence dietary recommendations for people with cancer. The objective of our study is to perform a clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of dairy products to maintain muscle mass and strength and improve patient outcomes in people undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Muscle wasting is prevalent among cancer patients and cancer treatment can lead to further muscle depletion which is associated with poor outcomes. Dairy products contain complete proteins of high quality and our previous study has shown a preference for dairy products in cancer patients during cancer treatment. This study aims to demonstrate a proof of principle that consumption of a diet high in protein and rich in dairy products will support the maintenance of muscle mass and strength, therefore improving outcomes in cancer patients undergoing treatment.

Methods: The primary outcome is change in muscle mass during cisplatin and/or immunotherapy treatment. Skeletal muscle index was measured by computed tomography (CT). To assess the physical function and muscle strength of patients, short physical performance battery and hand-held dynamometry tests were performed. Patients whose habitual protein intakes were low, received individual dietary instruction from a registered dietician on how to achieve at least one meal per day consisting of a minimum of 30 g of protein derived from at least 50% dairy products as well as 50% of total protein intake from dairy. Patients in a conventional control group continued their habitual dietary intake along with the standard of care. Subjects in the intervention group began consuming their diets immediately after all baseline measurements were collected and continued through treatment, lasting until their follow-up CT scan.

Results: This trial is in progress. It is expected that high protein diet rich in dairy products can maintain patient muscle mass and strength during chemotherapy compared to a low protein diet.

Conclusions: This study will represent a food based nutrition intervention that addresses limiting nutrients to improve outcomes for cancer patients.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

37

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Alberta
      • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
        • Cross Cancer Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

19 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of lung cancer scheduled for platinum-based chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy.
  • Patients with a computed tomography (CT) image, which includes scans of the 3rd lumbar region, taken within 45 days before initiation of chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy.
  • Ability to maintain oral intake.
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status ≤2 / Karnofsky Performance Status between 60-100.
  • Ability to give written, informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Co-morbidities that would be expected to interfere with the primary outcome measure (e.g. neuromuscular diseases).
  • Patients on long term drugs or supplements that modify muscle metabolism (e.g. corticosteroids, anti-androgens, omega-3 fatty acids).
  • Life expectancy <3 months.
  • Severe food restriction(s) (e.g. food allergy, intolerance or dietary pattern) that would inhibit the study intervention food modification.
  • An inability to comply with study instructions.
  • Patients engaged in a total of ≥50 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous cardiovascular exercise per week and/or structured resistance exercise occurring ≥2 times per week.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Non-experimental intervention
Subjects will continue eating normally.
Experimental: Intervention
Subjects will add certain foods to what they normally eat.
Subjects will be asked to consume certain foods during chemotherapy treatment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in muscle mass
Time Frame: 12 weeks
CT-derived changes in muscle mass occurring during the course of chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy treatment
12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in muscle strength
Time Frame: Baseline
Hand grip
Baseline
Change in muscle strength
Time Frame: 10 weeks
Hand grip
10 weeks
Change in physical performance
Time Frame: Baseline
Short physical performance battery protocol
Baseline
Change in physical performance
Time Frame: 10 weeks
Short physical performance battery protocol
10 weeks
Change in quality of life
Time Frame: Baseline
European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (30 and LC13)
Baseline
Change in quality of life
Time Frame: 10 weeks
European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (30 and LC13)
10 weeks
Change in nutritional status
Time Frame: Baseline
Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment
Baseline
Change in nutritional status
Time Frame: 10 weeks
Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment
10 weeks
Change in inflammatory status
Time Frame: Baseline
C-reactive protein/albumin ratio
Baseline
Change in inflammatory status
Time Frame: 10 weeks
C-reactive protein/albumin ratio
10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Vera Mazurak, Ph.D., University of Alberta

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 31, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

May 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 20, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 4, 2017

First Posted (Estimated)

January 5, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 25, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 21, 2023

Last Verified

September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HREBA-CC-16-0851

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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