A new paper was just published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looking at the effects of protein supplementation in those undergoing chemotherapy.
For some background, current protein recommendations for patients with cancer is 1.2-2.0 g/kg/day, which is a bit higher than the RDA’s target for adults of 0.8 g/kg/day. Most adults without cancer consume ~ 1 g/kg/day, with those undergoing cancer treatment typically consuming less protein and less Calories overall.
This paper is a meta-analysis of 35 studies (3700 patients) with multiple different cancer types. The paper is open access for those who want to read it in its entirety, but here are a few interesting things I noticed:
- Protein supplementation lost less weight than controls during cancer therapy, which is associated with improved outcomes.
- Those supplementing with protein had more muscle mass than those who didn’t, mainly through losing less during cancer therapy
- Those supplementing with protein had higher levels of strength than those who didn’t
- Hospitalization rate seemed to be lower in those getting a protein supplement
- Protein supplementation seemed to be very safe. Probably the most important finding to be honest.
