Abstract
Rationale: Unintentional loss of body weight is common in patients presenting with malignant tumours. A deficient nutritional status potentially decreases quality of life (QoL) and may increase side effects of oncological therapy. The present study investigated the impact of nutritional intervention on energyand protein intake and QoL in undernourished cancer patients in the ambulatory setting. Methods: Undernourished outpatients with cancer were randomized in two groups. One group (NT, n = 30) was individually counselled by a professional dietician during 3 months, whereas the other group (UC, n = 28) received the usual oncological care without specific nutritional intervention. Study duration was 6 months. Study measurements were carried out at baseline, after 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months. Energyand protein intake was assessed at each study visit with dietary records, and QoL was measured using the EORTC QLQ-C30. Results: The NT-group had a significantly higher energyand protein intake than the UC-group (+379 kcal, 95%CI: 117 642, p = 0.007; +10.4 g protein, 95%CI: 2.3 18.5, p = 0.02). QoL: There were significant improvements in global health status in both groups (p < 0.05), whereas functional scales showed no significant changes. Conclusion: Individual nutritional counselling significantly and positively influenced energyand protein intake but not QoL. The nutritional intervention may have been too late to positively impact on quality of life in patients with advanced cancer and deteriorated nutritional status. We therefore suggest to prospectively investigate the effects of an earlier nutritional intervention to avoid or delay nutritional deterioration.
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