Another focus of our clinical and experimental research is on the influence of nutrition, exercise and sports on cancer patients suffering from the cancer cachexia syndrome. About half of all patients suffering a malignant tumor disease develop the cancer cachexia syndrome. Mediators that are specific for the tumor and that promote inflammation lead to loss of appetite, systemic inflammatory processes and metabolic and hormonal changes. This results in an unintended weight loss, mainly characterized by a loss of muscular mass and strength.
Loss of muscular mass leads to a dismal prognosis
Loss of muscular mass and strength leads to a reduced physical performance, affects therapy tolerance and life quality and significantly worsens the prognosis. Therefore, multimodal therapy concepts should include measures that lead to muscle growth, improve the energy intake and nutrients’ absorption and utilization and reduce inflammation.
Individualized nutritional and exercise therapy leads to significant muscle growth
Currently, we study the effects of combining in an innovative treatment approach individualized nutritional and exercise therapy on clinical, metabolic, immunological, and functional aspects. In addition, we study the effects of special food supplements on the muscular state within these clinical projects. Our first results show that a nutritional therapy rich in protein, combined with an effective muscular training, may lead to a significant muscular growth and may improve performance even among advanced cancer patients. In further studies, we examine the effects of a protein-rich nutrition, combined with specific, time-efficient endurance and weight training methods on muscular state, power, physical fitness, and life quality.
Furthermore, we examine within experimental research approaches (cell cultures) in all our studies on the cancer cachexia syndrome the effects of our combined nutritional and exercise interventions on tumor cell growth as well as on morphological, biochemical, and moleculargenetic parameters of the skeletal muscle mass.