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Influence of Protein Intake on Muscle Mass and Health-related Quality of Life During and After Radiotherapy

Influence of Protein Intake on Muscle Mass and Health-related Quality of Life During and After Radiotherapy in Patients With Various Tumor Diseases

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06480266
Acronym
pROtein
Enrollment
175
Registered
2024-06-28
Start date
2024-10-16
Completion date
2026-12-31
Last updated
2025-09-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Malnutrition; Cachexia

Keywords

Cancer, Radiotherapy, Nutrition, Sarcopenia, Inflammation, Microbiome

Brief summary

The influence of radiotherapy on the protein intake and muscle mass of patients has not been extensively investigated to date. It is also unclear whether the localization of the tumor disease and thus the radiation field have different effects. Therefore, with the pilot study presented here, we would like to record the nutritional uptake of patients before and after radiotherapy. The aim is to determine the amount of energy and protein intake as well as the timing of protein intake. Furthermore, the relationship between the timing of protein intake and muscle mass will be investigated.

Detailed description

Many studies have shown that cancer patients have a very high prevalence of malnutrition. Several large-scale studies have reported that 50-80% of these patients are affected by involuntary weight loss, with the extent of weight loss depending on the tumor location and the type and stage of the disease. It has been widely reported that nutritional interventions are essential in cancer patients. Nevertheless, nutritional support is still not universally accessible to all patients. Given the prevalence of nutritional risks, the treatment of lean muscle mass loss remains a challenge in clinical practice. For this reason, a multidisciplinary approach with targeted nutritional therapy is crucial to improve the quality of care in oncology. A protein level of 1-1.2 g/kg bw is suggested for the maintenance of muscle mass.However, it has been shown that this amount is not sufficient to support ALM in patients with tumor diseases. Only an amount above 1.4 g/kg bw has been associated with a positive effect on muscle mass. Adequate dietary protein intake is essential for the maintenance of numerous physiological processes, including muscle protein synthesis and muscle function. Sufficient energy and protein intake is necessary to support muscle protein synthesis. The scientific literature frequently discusses the relationship between daily protein intake and its distribution over the main meals. The evening meal is particularly important for the maintenance of ALM.

Interventions

None listed

Sponsors

Charite University, Berlin, Germany
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 75 Years

Inclusion criteria

* Capacity to consent * At least 45 years of age * Sufficient knowledge of the German language * Indication to undergo radio(chemo)therapy with at least 10 fractions

Exclusion criteria

* Participation in other interventional studies * Pregnancy/breastfeeding * Previous intake of high-calorie supplementary food or intravenous nutrition * BMI \< 18.5 * When performing the bioimpedance measurement: patients with pacemakers, defibrillators and other implanted automatic devices

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Protein uptake in g/kg body weightbaseline, end of radiotherapy and 3 months after RadiotherapyChange in the amount of protein consumed and its distribution over the main meals by means of a dietary questionnaire before, at the end and 3 months after completion of radiotherapy.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Muscle mass in kgbaseline, end of radiotherapy and 3 months after RadiotherapyEvaluation of Muscle mass via Bioimpedance Measurements
Quality of Life (EORTC QLQ C30) in 5-tier likert scale (higher scores = better)baseline, end of radiotherapy and 3 months after RadiotherapyHealth Related Quality of Life with EORTC QLQ C30
Height in mbaseline, end of radiotherapy and 3 months after RadiotherapyHeight
Weight in kgbaseline, end of radiotherapy and 3 months after RadiotherapyBody Weight
BMI in kg/m²baseline, end of radiotherapy and 3 months after RadiotherapyBMI calculated from weight and Hight
Treatment Toxicity via CTCA criteria (5 tier scale; higher = worse)baseline, weekly during radiotherapy, end of treatment, follow up (up to 1 year, on average every 3 months)Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5
Treatment Toxicity via PROMs (5 tier scale; higher = worse)baseline, weekly during radiotherapy, end of treatment, follow up (up to 1 year, on average every 3 months)Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE®)
Fatigue in 5-tier likert scale (higher scores = worse)baseline, end of radiotherapy and 3 months after RadiotherapyFACIT F Questionnaire

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Primary ContactFranziska Hausmann, MD
franziska.hausmann@charite.de030 450557088

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026