Oncology Dietitian's Standard of CarePersonalized Culinary and Nutrition Therapy
Oncology Dietitian's Standard of Care: Standard-of-care dietary management for cancer patients.
Personalized Culinary and Nutrition Therapy: Personalized culinary advice based on each patient's specific taste and smell profile, along with close monitoring and management of the patient's metabolism (resting energy expenditure, body composition, and hand strength) for ±6 months.
Study summary
People with advanced cancer often lose muscle over time. This can make them weaker, more tired, and reduce their quality of life. Many patients also struggle to eat because of changes in taste, smell, or appetite.
This study evaluates a new way to help slow muscle loss and support daily functioning.
The approach combines personalized food and cooking guidance with close nutrition demands support. The goal is to help patients eat better in a way that fits their personal needs.
It is hypothesized that this close, personalized treatment improves muscle loss and the quality of life of adults with advanced cancer who are receiving chemotherapy.
The study focuses on people with mild to moderate muscle mass loss currently undergoing or about to start chemotherapy and aims to slow further decline in their muscle mass.
The approach is designed to be practical and suitable for everyday life during cancer treatment.
About 200 adults with advanced cancer who are receiving, or about to receive, chemotherapy will take part in this study.
The study will take place at the Davidoff Cancer Center in Israel and will last 6 months.
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will receive standard nutrition care from dietitians as well as ongoing physical activities programing and monitoring.
The other group will receive the same care, plus personalized cooking and food guidance tailored to their taste and smell changes. This group will also receive care based on careful measurements of their body's energy needs, body composition, and muscle strength.
These measurements will help the dietitian to offer more precise and personalized nutrition guidance over time.
Both groups will also receive advice about physical activity. Researchers will follow changes in muscle strength, physical function, nutrition status, and quality of life during the study.
The results will help determine whether personalized food and cooking support can better protect muscle mass and well-being in people with advanced cancer.
Eligibility
Sex
ALL
Min age
18 Years
Max age
—
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion Criteria:
* Ambulatory males and females, age ≥ 18 years
* Performance status (PS) 0-2
* Patients with non-occlusive, metastatic malignancies of the gastrointestinal, lung, genitourinary, or breast origin (stage 4)
* Receiving/about to receive chemotherapy treatment
* Have an estimated life expectancy of at least 6 months
* At least 4 weeks post major surgery
* Mild to moderate muscle mass loss based on the SMI measure on compoCT
* At risk of malnutrition according to the 'Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool' (MUST) (Score ≥2)
* Able to understand and provide written informed consent
* Willing and able to complete all study-specific procedures and visits
* Willing and able (either personally or with the help of family members) to prepare meals according to the adjusted recipes
Exclusion Criteria:
* Patients suffering from gastrointestinal obstruction
* Patients with severe dietary restrictions
* A medical condition that impacts the ability to increase muscle mass, as per the PI decision
* Uncontrolled thyroid disease
* Self-reported major dietary restrictions related to the intervention, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
* Patients with a history or active eating disorder
* Pregnant or lactating
Primary outcome measure(s)
Muscle mass loss, assessed by SMI on CT examination, from baseline throughout the 6-month study period. CT scans obtained within a window of up to 2 months after completion of the participant's study participation may be used. — From baseline throughout the month 6 study period - repeatedly evaluated across the study period between groups and within patient longitudinal changes. CT scans obtained within a window of up to 2 months after completion of the participant's study parti
General quality of life, assessed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), from baseline throughout the 6-month study period. — From baseline throughout the month 6 study period - repeatedly evaluated across the study period between groups and within patient longitudinal changes. The raw score will be transformed to a standardized range from 0 to 100, according to the EORTC scoring manual. Higher scores indicate better functioning and QoL, whereas in the symptom subscale, higher scores indicate greater symptom burden (worse outcome).
General quality of life assessed by the Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Treatment (FAACT), from baseline throughout the 6-month study period. — From baseline throughout the month 6 study period - repeatedly evaluated across the study period between groups and within patient longitudinal changes. According to the FAACT scoring guidelines, the range of possible scores is 0-156, with 0 being the worst possible score and 156 the best.
Food-related quality of life, assessed by the QVA Questionnaire (from the French "Qualité de Vie Alimentaire"), from baseline throughout the 6-month study period. — From baseline throughout the month 6 study period - repeatedly evaluated across the study period between groups and within patient longitudinal changes. The Global QVA score ranges from 35 to 140 points when the social (SOCIO) factor is included. A higher score on this scale indicates a better food-related quality of life.
This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
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