The Effect of Locally Made Nutritional Supplementation on Cancer Cachexia in Bangladesh: A Quasi-experimental Study.

Summary

Background (brief): Burden: Cancer is the sixth leading cause of death in Bangladesh, posing a significant public health challenge. Among the major complications associated with cancer, cachexia remains a critical concern. Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by severe and progressive weight loss, muscle wasting, and metabolic dysfunction, significantly impacting patient's overall health. It not only leads to a decline in quality of life but also contributes to poor treatment outcomes and reduced overall survival. Despite its profound clinical implications, effective therapeutic strategies for managing cancer cachexia remain limited. Addressing this condition is essential for improving the prognosis and well-being of cancer patients, highlighting the urgent need for further research and targeted interventions.

Knowledge gap: It has been reported that a single nutritional supplement alone is not enough to combat cancer related cachexia. Many commercial formulas are available in the market, but these are costly and out of reach for the people of low- and middle-income countries.

Hypothesis (if any): Egg-enriched rice starch water fortified with multivitamins and multimineral is efficient in managing cancer cachexia.

Objectives: Our primary objective is to observe the effects of locally developed nutritional supplement on cancer cachexia.

Methods: This will be a prospective study with quasi-experimental design to be conducted among the patients with cancer cachexia admitted to a tertiary hospital. Patients will be recruited from the department of surgical oncology, National Institute of Cancer Research \& Hospital (NICRH). Patients in intervention group will receive cooked rice starch water mixed with egg and multivitamin multimineral pre-mix for 14 days, in addition to conventional treatments for cancer. The control group will receive the conventional diet provided from hospital.

Outcome measures/variables:

Primary: Improvement in serum albumin and haemoglobin after nutritional supplementation Secondary: Change in quality of life, change is basal metabolic index (BMI)

Conditions

• Cancer Cachexia (CC)

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Cooked rice starch water along with multivitamin multimineral

After enrolment, a locally made formula, consisting of rice starch water, egg, multivitamins, multimineral will be administered to patients. Rice starch water is the liquid that remains after boiling rice. To prepare a moderate to thick consistency, approximately 2.5 to 3 litres of water are mixed with 1 kilogram of rice before boiling. After boiling, around 700 millilitres of moderate to thick rice starch water can be collected. After collecting rice starch water from the kitchen, egg and multivitamin, multimineral will be added by our trained health workers. The formula will be heated and blended to ensure proper mixture. Our trained health worker will involve every step and will ensure feeding within two hours of cooking. Proper hygiene will be maintained during the food preparation and distribution. In intervention arm, each patient will receive 500 ml of this liquid preparation two times daily for 14 days along with the hospital diet.

OTHER

Conventional hospital diet

This will be an quasi-experimental study. At National Institute of Cancer Research Hospital they use to provide patient's diet free of cost. The control arm will receive the diet that provided by the hospital for all patients. We will record all dietary intake in daily patient follow-up form.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital, Bangladesh

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-01-01

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2026-12-31

Countries

• Bangladesh

Study Locations