Effect of Rehabilitation Nutrition Care Process on Physical Function in Lung Cancer Cachexia: A Case Report

Patients with cancer cachexia have poor adherence to treatment, which affects their prognosis. Currently, there are many studies on the effects of rehabilitation on cancer cachexia, but there is a lack of evidence on the effects of nutrition therapy alone or in combination with rehabilitation and nutrition therapy. This article describes a case in which rehabilitation nutrition care process was effective in a patient with lung cancer who developed cancer cachexia.

A 68-year-old woman was hospitalized for treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. The patient had moderate malnutrition, sarcopenia, and cachexia at the time of admission, so the authors intervened according to rehabilitation nutrition care process. The physiotherapist mainly prescribed resistance training and aerobic exercise, 40-60 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week. And the dietitian provided oral nutritional supplements (100 kcal, branched-chain amino acid: 3.0 g) in addition to hospital food and adjusted the patient's energy intake to 26.96-33.05 kcal/kg/day and protein intake to 1.07-1.14 g/kg/day.

Comparing the initial evaluation with the discharge, nutritional status, such as body mass index and skeletal muscle mass, and physical functions, such as maximum grip strength, gait speed, and functional independence measure (motor items), were improved.

Rehabilitation nutrition care process-based interventions may improve nutritional status and physical functions more than exercise therapy alone in patients with lung cancer cachexia.