Dietetic and Psychological Mindfulness Workshops for the Management of Cachectic Cancer Patients. A Randomized Study.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if actively-treated cancer patients developing cachexia could benefit from participation to mindfulness workshops.


METHODS
Subjects developing cachexia signs while treated for cancer were randomized in a trial aiming to compare an experimental group that would participate to specific workshops based on mindfulness alternating dietetic and psychological approaches, and a control group managed in accordance to usual practice.


RESULTS
The recruitment was difficult (12% of the approached population). Finally 53 patients accepted to participate. Despite an unpredictable compliance of workshop participants, the final satisfaction score attained 75%. In comparison with the control group, patients randomized to the experimental group showed a significant benefit with an increase of their body weight and an improvement of their WHO status score. They also experienced an improvement of emotional function and observation faculty as well as a relief of fatigue and some digestive disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
Selected cachectic cancer patients may benefit from this experimental approach. This approach may, however, be difficult to implement on a large scale.
Oncology Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium christian.focan@chc.be.
Christian
C
Focan
Oncology Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Ghislain
G
Houbiers
Dietetics Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Laura
L
Gilles
Dietetics Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Tiphany
T
Van Steeland
Psychology Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Nadine
N
Georges
Oncology Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Alexandro
A
Maniglia
Oncology Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Jean-Pierre
JP
Lobelle
Psychology Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Vincent
V
Baro
Oncology Department, Centre Hospitalier Chrétien, Liège, Belgium.
Marie-Pascale
MP
Graas
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002100:Cachexia / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004046:Dietetics; D019468:Disease Management; D004644:Emotions; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064866:Mindfulness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Cachexia; dietetics; mindfulness