The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect of a Food for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP) mainly containing amino acids and flavonoids in combination with nutritional counseling, versus nutritional counseling alone, on chemotherapy toxicity, nutritional status and quality of life in patients with breast cancer. The main questions it aims to answer are: * can this dietary supplementation affect the nutritional status of breast cancer patients? * can this dietary supplementation have any beneficial effect on chemotoxicity? Participants will be asked to undergo nutritional counseling and to take the study product every day for 12 weeks. Researchers will compare a similar group of participants only receiving the nutritional counseling to see if any difference occurs.
Participants will be selected at the first oncological visit at the Outpatient Clinics or the Department of Medical Oncology of the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia. The doctor, evaluated the inclusion and exclusion criteria, will propose patient to participate in the study and, after obtaining informed consent, will proceed with enrollment. On the first day of chemotherapy, participants will undergo an oncological and nutritional examination, with collection of anthropometric data, assessment of body composition, assessment of quality of life through special validated questionnaires, blood sampling for blood chemistry tests and urine collection. Participants in the treated group will receive a supply of the FSMP to take home. At check-up visits, the participant's nutritional status and any adverse events will be assessed, other than adherence to treatment by delivery of empty product boxes and chemotherapy compliance. Blood chemistry tests will be repeated at 6 weeks after the first chemotherapy cycle and 3 weeks after the last chemotherapy cycle (follow-up period).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
60
Food for Special Medical Purposes specifically formulated for the dietary management of malnourished patients following therapeutic treatments such as chemo and radiotherapy
Participant's nutritional status will be evaluated, anthropometric data will be collected (weight, height, BMI), body composition will be evaluated (FFMI, BIVA) and a food diary will be compiled
IRCSS San Matteo University Hospital Foundation
Pavia, Italy
RECRUITINGMean change from baseline in High-Sensitivity Troponin Levels as a serological marker of chemotherapy cardiotoxicity
The comparison of changes from baseline will be performed using a generalized linear regression model, adjusting for the baseline value of the biomarker. The difference in averages between groups and the relative range of confidence of 90 percent will be derived from the model
Time frame: 0, 6, 12 weeks
Mean change from baseline in weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI)
Participant's weight in kilograms and height in meters will be combined to report BMI and FFMI in kg/m\^2
Time frame: 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 weeks
Mean change from baseline in Phase Angle
Participant's body composition will be evaluated through measurement of the phase angle which represents the relationship between resistance and capacitive reactance of the body and bioimpedance diagnostics
Time frame: 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 weeks
Mean change from baseline in Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA)
Participant's water and nutritional status will be evaluated
Time frame: 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 weeks
Number of participants with treatment-related adverse events as assessed by CTCAE v5.0
Proportion of participants with adverse events of any type and specifically haematological, cardiac, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, metabolic, psychiatric, renal and urinary types, distinguishing between grade 1-2, grade 3-4 and grade 5. Furthermore, the proportion of participants who discontinue chemotherapy treatment and the change in the number of participants who reduce their chemotherapy dose during the treatment
Time frame: 3, 6, 9, 12 weeks
Mean change from baseline in Interleukine-6 levels
The comparison of changes from baseline will be performed using a generalized linear regression model, adjusting for the baseline value of the biomarker. The difference in averages between groups and the relative range of confidence of 90 percent will be derived from the model
Time frame: 0, 6, 12 weeks
Mean change from baseline Interleukine-1 beta levels
The comparison of changes from baseline will be performed using a generalized linear regression model, adjusting for the baseline value of the biomarker. The difference in averages between groups and the relative range of confidence of 90 percent will be derived from the model
Time frame: 0, 6, 12 weeks
Mean change from baseline in C-reactive Protein levels
The comparison of changes from baseline will be performed using a generalized linear regression model, adjusting for the baseline value of the biomarker. The difference in averages between groups and the relative range of confidence of 90 percent will be derived from the model
Time frame: 0, 6, 12 weeks
Participant's perception of her physical and mental state
Comparison of the total average values resulting from the compilation of two validated oncological questionnaires, which include questions with scores from 1 to 4, where in general higher scores mean a worse outcome
Time frame: 0, 12 weeks
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.