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Sandy Srinivas, MD
Sandy Srinivas, MD
Posted: Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Following a nutritional program while undergoing androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer may help mitigate nutritional risks associated with the therapy, including an increase in body fat and a decrease in muscle mass, according to a study by Paulo Sergio Lages, MD, of Grupo Oncoclinicas, Brasília, Brazil, and colleagues. Presented during the 2023 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 12072), the team’s findings suggest that a nutritional program tailored to individual patient risk may improve body composition—including maintenance of lean body weight and decrease in body fat weight—and maintain muscle strength in patients during treatment. However, the researchers noted a need for further study through longer randomized trials, with assessments at 6 and 12 months following the start of treatment.
A total of 62 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer and about to initiate androgen-deprivation therapy were recruited at a cancer center in Brasilia. Of that number, 65% were diagnosed with stage IV disease, and 23% were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe nutritional risk at baseline. At baseline, nearly half of the patients (47%) were considered to have overweight, and 13% had obesity. Participants were assessed before starting treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Nutritional risk was assessed using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, body composition was assessed using the medical software suite Lookin’Body120, and muscle strength was assessed using the Jamar Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer.
Based on individual risk assessment, patients were instructed to follow either a normocaloric (20–25 kcal/kg) or a hypocaloric (18–20 kcal/kg) diet, and both groups consumed a hyperproteic diet (1–1.2 g/kg) that included whey protein supplementation as needed. In addition to maintenance of lean body weight and a statistically significant loss of body fat weight among participants, the researchers observed a decrease in sarcopenia and an increase in the proportion of eutrophic patients over the 12-week period.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
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