Patients suffering from cancer often experience a loss of muscle mass and strength during disease and its therapy. Muscle wasting is the main characteristic of the so-called cancer cachexia syndrome and responsible for many therapy-related complications and a poorer prognosis of the patient. Stabilizing muscle mass should therefore be a great goal in cancer care. Physical exercise and nutrition are promising measures to combat cancer-related muscle atrophy but conventional exercise programs may not always be suitable for physical-weakened patients and increased catabolic processes are difficult to overcome by normal Nutrition - especially in advanced cancer. Therefore, the present study aims to test a combined approach of specific nutritional supplementation and exercise using the novel strength training method of Whole-Body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS). The study investigates the effect of a 12-week WB-EMS training combined with a dietary supplementation of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB), L-carnitine (LC) or the omega-3-fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on skeletal muscle mass, body composition, physical function, nutritional and inflammatory status, fatigue and quality of life in cancer patients undergoing oncological treatment. The results of this study may help to clarify the effectiveness of those combined interventions to counteract muscle wasting and other symptoms of cancer cachexia.
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Skeletal muscle mass
Timeframe: 12 weeks