Nutrition support using the American Dietetic Association medical nutrition therapy protocol for radiation oncology patients improves dietary intake compared with standard practice.

Background: A randomized controlled trial previously conducted in radiation oncology patients demonstrated that nutrition intervention had a beneficial impact on body weight, nutritional status, and quality of life compared with standard practice, but it did not report on dietary intake data.

Objective: To determine the impact of nutrition intervention compared with standard practice on dietary intake in outpatients receiving radiotherapy.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled trial.

Subjects: Sixty consecutive radiation oncology outpatients (51 men and nine women; age 61.9+/-14 years [mean+/-standard deviation]).

Setting: Australian private radiotherapy facility.

Intervention: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either nutrition intervention (n=29) (nutrition counseling following the American Dietetic Association [ADA] medical nutrition therapy [MNT] protocol for radiation oncology) or standard practice (n=31) (general nutrition talk and booklet).

Main Outcome Measure: Dietary intake (protein, energy, fiber) assessed at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after starting radiotherapy.

Statistical Analyses: Repeated-measures analysis of variance done on an intention to treat basis.

Results: The nutrition intervention group had a higher mean total energy (P=0.029) and protein intake (P<0.001) compared with the standard practice group. Mean intake per kilogram of body weight for the nutrition intervention group ranged from 28 to 31 kcal/kg/day compared with 25 to 29 kcal/kg/day for the standard practice group (P=0.022). The nutrition intervention group had a higher mean protein intake (1.1 to 1.3 g/kg/day) compared with the standard practice group (1.0 to 1.1 g/kg/day) (P=0.001). Although the change in fiber intake between the groups was not significant, there was a trend in the anticipated direction (P=0.083).

Conclusions: Intensive nutrition intervention following the ADA MNT protocol results in improved dietary intake compared with standard practice and seems to beneficially impact nutrition-related outcomes previously observed in oncology outpatients receiving radiotherapy. The ADA MNT protocol for radiation oncology is a useful guide to the level of nutrition support required.