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Energy Boost For Fatigued Cancer Patients
June 11, 2002SWALLOWING a specially designed energy drink each day could boost cancer patients left exhausted by chemotherapy, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer today* (Tuesday).
Fatigue is one of the most common side effects of treatment for cancer, robbing patients of the energy to perform everyday tasks and severely impairing their quality of life.
But Italian scientists have found that giving people a substance called levocarnitine - which is taken in a pineapple flavoured drink - seems to help them recover from the effects of treatment. In their study, 90 per cent of those who received the supplement recovered from their fatigue within a week.
Scientists believe many cases of fatigue - which affects 80 per cent of patients receiving chemotherapy - occur when treatment disrupts a patient's metabolism. This depletes levels of a molecule called carnitine, which is vital for providing energy to our muscles.
Lead researcher Dr Francesco Graziano, of Urbino Hospital in Italy, comments: "After chemotherapy, many patients have low levels of carnitine in their blood and we think that's one of the reasons they feel so exhausted. It seemed logical that boosting carnitine levels with a dietary supplement might restore that lost energy. Our study was the first to take this new approach to treating fatigue and the results, although preliminary, were very encouraging."
Dr Graziano and his colleagues studied 50 patients who had reported feeling fatigue during the course of their chemotherapy. They used detailed questionnaires to assess each patient's degree of fatigue and took blood samples to measure carnitine levels.
Researchers then gave patients an energy drink containing levocarnitine, which is converted to carnitine in the body. After a week of treatment, their progress was assessed.
On average, blood carnitine levels increased by 50 per cent over the course of the week. And the questionnaires revealed that 45 of the 50 patients (90 per cent) no longer felt fatigued.
Dr Graziano adds: "The quality of life of our patients improved markedly over the course of the week, and it seems likely that the improvements were a result of the supplements they were taking.
"We now need larger-scale trials, to test the extent to which the supplement can restore patients' energy levels. It could become an important way of maintaining quality of life for patients undergoing intensive treatment for cancer."
Prof Gordon McVie of Cancer Research UK, owners of the British Journal of Cancer, says: "Treating patients more effectively doesn't just mean keeping them alive for longer; it also means preserving their quality of life.
"We are getting better at reducing the side effects associated with modern drugs, but chemotherapy still robs many patients of the energy they need to live their life to the full. A simple dietary supplement to restore a patient's zip would be a valuable step forward and these initial results are certainly encouraging."
Ends
Cancer Research UK
Scientists believe many cases of fatigue - which affects 80 per cent of patients receiving chemotherapy - occur when treatment disrupts a patient's metabolism. This depletes levels of a molecule called carnitine, which is vital for providing energy to our muscles.
Lead researcher Dr Francesco Graziano, of Urbino Hospital in Italy, comments: "After chemotherapy, many patients have low levels of carnitine in their blood and we think that's one of the reasons they feel so exhausted. It seemed logical that boosting carnitine levels with a dietary supplement might restore that lost energy. Our study was the first to take this new approach to treating fatigue and the results, although preliminary, were very encouraging."
Dr Graziano and his colleagues studied 50 patients who had reported feeling fatigue during the course of their chemotherapy. They used detailed questionnaires to assess each patient's degree of fatigue and took blood samples to measure carnitine levels.
Researchers then gave patients an energy drink containing levocarnitine, which is converted to carnitine in the body. After a week of treatment, their progress was assessed.
On average, blood carnitine levels increased by 50 per cent over the course of the week. And the questionnaires revealed that 45 of the 50 patients (90 per cent) no longer felt fatigued.
Dr Graziano adds: "The quality of life of our patients improved markedly over the course of the week, and it seems likely that the improvements were a result of the supplements they were taking.
"We now need larger-scale trials, to test the extent to which the supplement can restore patients' energy levels. It could become an important way of maintaining quality of life for patients undergoing intensive treatment for cancer."
Prof Gordon McVie of Cancer Research UK, owners of the British Journal of Cancer, says: "Treating patients more effectively doesn't just mean keeping them alive for longer; it also means preserving their quality of life.
"We are getting better at reducing the side effects associated with modern drugs, but chemotherapy still robs many patients of the energy they need to live their life to the full. A simple dietary supplement to restore a patient's zip would be a valuable step forward and these initial results are certainly encouraging."
Ends
Cancer Research UK
Chemotherapy Current Events and Chemotherapy News RSSFertility procedures need not delay breast cancer treatment for younger women
A new study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that breast cancer patients under 40 years old who undergo fertility preservation do not face a significant delay in the treatment of their disease when their care is coordinated in a timely fashion.
Drugs to treat anemia in cancer patients linked to thromboembolism
Medications frequently given to cancer patients to reduce their risk of anemia are associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, according to new research led by Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
For young boys with cancer, testicular tissue banking may be option to preserve fertility
For parents of children with cancer, the hopeful news is that pediatric survival rates have steadily improved for decades. Among the bad news-treatments that enable survival often cause infertility.
FDA approved leukemia drugs shows promise in ovarian cancer cells
The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found.
1930s drug slows tumor growth
Drugs sometimes have beneficial side effects. A glaucoma treatment causes luscious eyelashes. A blood pressure drug also aids those with a rare genetic disease.
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
New Synthetic Molecules Trigger Immune Response to HIV and Prostate Cancer
Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases.
Chemo-radiation before prostate removal may prevent cancer recurrence
Researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have found a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is safe and may have the potential to reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival.
PMH finding may help some tonsil cancer patients avoid chemotherapy
Clinical researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) have confirmed that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer ("tonsil cancer") harbour a common type of human papilloma virus (HPV16), but also that such cancers are very sensitive to radiation.
Study of concurrent radiotherapy, chemotherapy shows promise in small cell lung cancer
Treating limited stage small cell lung cancer(LSCL) with a combination of accelerated high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy has shown encouraging results.
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