Clinical trial · Interventional
Personalized Cooking and Nutrition Guidance and Physical Activities Program to Reduce Muscle Loss in Advanced Cancer
CuliCan Study A Multimodal Approach to Mitigate Muscle Mass Loss in Advanced Cancer Patients: Personalized Culinary Advice Addressing Mild to Moderate Muscle Mass Loss
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
People with advanced cancer often lose muscle over time. This can make them weaker, more tired, and reduce their quality of life. Many patients also struggle to eat because of changes in taste, smell, or appetite. This study evaluates a new way to help slow muscle loss and support daily functioning. The approach combines personalized food and cooking guidance with close nutrition demands support. The goal is to help patients eat better in a way that fits their personal needs. It is hypothesized that this close, personalized treatment improves muscle loss and the quality of life of adults with advanced cancer who are receiving chemotherapy. The study focuses on people with mild to moderate muscle mass loss currently undergoing or about to start chemotherapy and aims to slow further decline in their muscle mass. The approach is designed to be practical and suitable for everyday life during cancer treatment. About 200 adults with advanced cancer who are receiving, or about to receive, chemotherapy will take part in this study. The study will take place at the Davidoff Cancer Center in Israel and will last 6 months. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will receive standard nutrition care from dietitians as well as ongoing physical activities programing and monitoring. The other group will receive the same care, plus personalized cooking and food guidance tailored to their taste and smell changes. This group will also receive care based on careful measurements of their body's energy needs, body composition, and muscle strength. These measurements will help the dietitian to offer more precise and personalized nutrition guidance over time. Both groups will also receive advice about physical activity. Researchers will follow changes in muscle strength, physical function, nutrition status, and quality of life during the study. The results will help determine whether personalized food and cooking support can better protect muscle mass and well-being in people with advanced cancer.
Conditions
Conditions (3)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Muscle Mass Loss | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Sarcopenia | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oncology Dietitian's Standard of Care | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Personalized Culinary and Nutrition Therapy | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Oncology Dietitian Standard of Care
- description
- Patient will be treated according to the Davidoff oncology dietitian's standard of care. Patient will also receive a standard physical activity program and monitoring.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Oncology Dietitian's Standard of Care
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Personalized Culinary and Nutrition Therapy
- description
- Patient will be treated according to the oncology dietitian's standard of care, including personalized culinary advice based on their individual taste and smell profile, along with close monitoring and management of their metabolism/physiologic needs (their resting energy expenditure, body composition, and hand strength). Dietitians will provide guidance using specially adapted recipes, professionally adjusted to meet individually profiled taste and smell needs, along with general science-based recommendations for meal preparation. Patient will also receive a standard physical activity program and monitoring. Sensory alterations (taste and smell) and metabolic/physiological measures (resting energy expenditure, body composition, and hand strength) will be conducted every ±3-6 weeks. Each patient will participate in the study for ±6 months.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Ambulatory males and females, age ≥ 18 years * Performance status (PS) 0-2 * Patients with non-occlusive, metastatic malignancies of the gastrointestinal, lung, genitourinary, or breast origin (stage 4) * Receiving/about to receive chemotherapy treatment * Have an estimated life expectancy of at least 6 months * At least 4 weeks post major surgery * Mild to moderate muscle mass loss based on the SMI measure on compoCT * At risk of malnutrition according to the 'Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool' (MUST) (Score ≥2) * Able to understand and provide written informed consent * Willing and able to complete all study-specific procedures and visits * Willing and able (either personally or with the help of family members) to prepare meals according to the adjusted recipes Exclusion Criteria: * Patients suffering from gastrointestinal obstruction * Patients with severe dietary restrictions * A medical condition that impacts the ability to increase muscle mass, as per the PI decision * Uncontrolled thyroid disease * Self-reported major dietary restrictions related to the intervention, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) * Patients with a history or active eating disorder * Pregnant or lactating
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available