Russia develops post-operative nutritional solution for cancer patients

A study carried out by Saratov State Medical University (SGMU)in Russia, presented promising results on the effectiveness of a therapeutic diet in patients with genitourinary cancer. The results were released during the Russian Science Week (WeRuS-2024).

According to researchers, more than 80% of cancer patients face significant nutritional deficiencies, which compromise adequate intake of nutrients essential for the body’s functioning. To combat this problem, the SGMU team developed balanced nutritional mixtures, called “sippings“, aimed at filling these deficits.

The study involved 30 patients who were diagnosed with kidney, bladder and prostate cancer and who underwent surgical procedures.

These patients were divided into two groups for the research: the first group received sippings as nutritional support, while the second group, control, did not receive any nutritional supplementation.

The results indicated that postoperative complications in the group using the nutritional mixtures were reduced by half compared to the control group.

It was also observed that there was a significant improvement in the healing of surgical incisions and management of the underlying health condition.

Furthermore, the nutritional intervention led to a reduction in metabolic complications, resulting in a decrease in the average length of hospital stays by three days.

“Including the product in the patients’ diet showed a positive effect on the patients’ general condition. In the research group, 73.3% of patients showed a general improvement, while in the control group this indicator was only 20%”, highlighted Inna Simakova, director of the Research and Production Center for Healthy Nutrition Technologies at SGMU.

Simakova also mentioned that patients in the control group demonstrated a higher incidence of gastrointestinal disorders, occurring in 86.5% of cases. The next step for SGMU scientists is to expand the product’s application and investigate its effects on different categories of patients.

This study is part of the strategic project “Adaptive food industry for health design”, included in the “Priority 2030” program, which aims to integrate nutritional innovations in the treatment and recovery of cancer patients.