The Impact of a Home Delivered Meal Service in Cancer Patients During Chemotherapy

Radboud University Medical Center148 enrolled

Overview

Cancer patients receiving treatment such as chemotherapy experience a variety of symptoms that interfere with their appetite and their ability to eat and enjoy meals. Therefore, adapting meals in a way that responds to these symptoms might be a good strategy to improve patient satisfaction, nutritional status and hence, quality of life. In this vein, the investigators hypothesize that meals from FoodforCare at Home will contribute to the quality of life of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy when compared to usual care.

Cancer patients receiving treatment such as chemotherapy experience a variety of symptoms that interfere with their appetite and their ability to eat and enjoy meals. Several studies suggest that nutritional intake increases when the patient is satisfied about the quality of the meals. Therefore, adapting meals in a way that responds to these symptoms might be a good strategy to improve patient satisfaction, nutritional status and hence, quality of life. In this vein, the investigators hypothesize that meals from FoodforCare at Home will contribute to the quality of life of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy when compared to usual care. Also, the investigators expect that this strategy will have a positive effect on patient satisfaction, other nutrition-related issues, including nausea and vomiting, on nutritional intake per se and hence, on the nutritional status. Additional benefits might include reduced use of medication, especially anti-emetics.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

148

Conditions

Cancer Malnutrition

Interventions

FoodforCare at homeOTHER

Five small protein rich meals that will be delivered twice a week for 3 weeks.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * age 18 years or older * diagnosed with cancer * receiving chemotherapy according to a minimum schedule of every 2 weeks * living within a 40 km radius around the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre * written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * renal insufficiency (MDRD-GFR (glomerular filtration rate) \< 60ml/min and/or proteinuria)\* * dementia or any other condition which makes it impossible to fill out questionnaires correctly * unable to understand or speak Dutch * depending on artificial nutrition in the form of Oral Nutritional Supplements, tube feeding or total parenteral nutrition * swallowing or passage problems * proteinuria is defined in case of a protein creatinine ratio \> 0.5g/10mmol or an albuminuria \> 300mg/day. This is checked by default before the start of chemotherapy by the treating physician to decide whether or not the patient is eligible for receiving chemotherapy.

Locations (1)

Radboudumc

Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Quality of life and overall health status

EORTC-Quality of Life-C30 questionnaire filled in before chemotherapy, two times during chemotherapy and after chemotherapy. This questionnaire consists of 30 questions and a total score ranging from 0-100 is calculated based on these questions. The higher the score, the higher the quality of life of the patient.

Time frame: 3.5 months

Secondary Outcomes

Nutritional intake

2-day food diary filled in before chemotherapy, two times during chemotherapy and after chemotherapy.

Time frame: 3.5 months

Muscle strength

Hand grip strength (kg) performed before chemotherapy, two times during chemotherapy and once after chemotherapy.

Time frame: 3.5 months

Nutritional status

Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) performed before chemotherapy, two times during chemotherapy and once after chemotherapy.

Time frame: 3.5 months

Functional score

Karnofsky scale performed before chemotherapy, two times during chemotherapy and once after chemotherapy. This status is based on 11 levels and ranges from 0, indicating death, to 100, indicating no complaints or evidence of disease.

Time frame: 3.5 months

Quality of life caregiver

Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) filled in before chemotherapy, two times during chemotherapy and once after chemotherapy. This questionnaire consist of 24 items in five subscales. All items are statements with a 5-point Likert scale (completely disagree-completely agree). All subscale scores are the average of the item scores, ranging from 1 to 5. There is no total score.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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