Differences in dietary intake during chemotherapy in breast cancer patients compared to women without cancer

Abstract

PurposeBreast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy often experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite that potentially affect dietary habits. This study assessed the intake of energy, macronutrients and food groups before and during chemotherapy in breast cancer patients compared with women without cancer, and determined the association between symptoms and energy and macronutrient intake.MethodsThis study included 117 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients scheduled for chemotherapy and 88 women without cancer. Habitual intake before chemotherapy was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Two 24-h dietary recalls were completed on random days for each participant during the whole chemotherapy treatment for patients and within 6 months after recruitment for women without cancer. Shortly, after the dietary recall, participants filled out questionnaires on symptoms.ResultsBefore chemotherapy, habitual energy and macronutrient intake was similar for breast cancer patients and women without cancer. During chemotherapy, breast cancer patients reported a significantly lower total energy, fat, protein and alcohol intake than women without cancer, as shown by a lower intake of pastry and biscuits, cheese, legumes and meat products. A decline in subjective taste perception, appetite and hunger and experiencing a dry mouth, difficulty chewing, lack of energy and nausea were associated with a lower energy intake.ConclusionsSymptoms induced by chemotherapy are associated with lower dietary intake and manifested by a lower intake of specific food groups. To ensure an optimal dietary intake during chemotherapy, it is important to monitor nutritional status and symptom burden during chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00520-017-3668-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Weight Gain during Systemic Oncologic Therapy for Breast Cancer: Changes in Food Intake and Physical Activity

“…Increase in food intake was more frequent in our patients that gained weight during the systemic therapy. Our study concurs with a previous work reporting that twenty-five percent of patients showed increased appetite during chemotherapy 23 that resulted in higher energy intake than documented in healthy women 24 . Aversion to animal protein, especially meat, is described during chemotherapy for breast cancer 25 .…”

“…Aversion to animal protein, especially meat, is described during chemotherapy for breast cancer 25 . Despite the lower intake of protein and fat, there was an increase in carbohydrate consumption, which implies in a higher energy intake 24 . In this study, the frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms was not different between the groups.…”

“…Foram documentadas mudanças na ingestão de alimentos e no padrão de atividade física, queixas digestivas e alterações da massa corporal muscular e adiposa. Resultados: Os grupos com ganho ponderal (n=36) e sem ganho ponderal (n=53) foram semelhantes quanto ao estadiamento tumoral (p=0, 24), emprego das classes de drogas antineoplásicas (p=0,23) e modalidade de tratamento oncológico (p=0,61). Durante o tratamento oncológico sistêmico, a composição corporal foi semelhante entre os grupos de estudo.…”

Changes in Circulating Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

“…This study was conducted as part of the COBRA study, which is an observational multicenter study among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and a comparison group of women not diagnosed with cancer. Design of the study and recruitment of the participants have been previously described in detail (26). Briefly, 181 eligible patients with incident stage I-IIIB breast cancer were recruited between May 2013 and November 2016 from 12 academic and peripheral hospitals in the Netherlands prior to start of neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy.…”

Diet quality and its relationship with overweight and laboratory parameters in breast cancer patients undergoing treatment

“…Contrary to popular belief, the intake of whole grain products that commonly known as healthy food was low in this cohort of breast cancer patients. During treatment, cancer patients experience various side effects which could interfere with the ability of consuming a balanced diet 25,35,36 , in spite of the high awareness of practising healthy eating. The compliance towards refined grain guideline could be deduced from the assessment of whole grains, where both of these components yield identical interpretation.…”