A study has found that a low-calorie diet and a moderate exercise program can dramatically improve survival outcomes for children and adolescents diagnosed with the most common childhood cancer – acute lymphoblastic leukemia, researchers at UCLA and Hospital said Thursday of Children in Los Angeles.
The researchers said they found that patients who reduced their calorie intake by 10% or more and adopted a moderate exercise program immediately after diagnosis were, on average, 70% less likely to have leukemia cells. persistent after a month. do not follow the diet and exercise regime.
“I tried a very light diet because it was the first time I used it, because the first month of treatment is so difficult for patients and families,” said study lead author Dr. Steven Mittelman, head of pediatric endocrinology. at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. But, even with these slight changes in diet and exercise, the intervention was extremely effective in reducing the chances of having detectable leukemia in the bone marrow.
Mittleman said researchers hoped the intervention would improve outcomes, but had no idea it would be as effective.
“We can’t really add more toxic chemotherapies to the intensive phase of treatment, but this is an intervention that probably has no negative or side effects. In fact, we hope it can even reduce the toxicity caused by chemotherapy, ”he said.
In a clinical study at CHLA, the researchers worked with dietitians and physical therapists to create personalized 28-day interventions for 40 young people aged 10 to 21 who were recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The interventions were designed to reduce participants’ calorie intake by at least 10% to reduce both fat gain and muscle loss, while the physical activity component included a target level of 200 minutes per week of moderate exercise. .
It marked the first study to test a diet and exercise to improve childhood cancer outcomes, according to research director and lead author Dr. Etan Orgel, director of the Institute of Cancer and Disease Health Care. . who called it “interesting evidence of the concept, which can have major implications for other types of cancer.”
The approach will then be tested in a multicenter randomized study launched later this year, the researchers said.
Other study authors included Jiyoon Kim and Gang Li from UCLA; Celia Framson, Rubi Buxton, David Freyer and Matthew Oberley of CHLA, Weili Sun of City of Hope, Jonathan Tucci of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Christina Dieli-Conwright of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of Hematology of the American Society.