Nutritional intervention in Adolescent and Young Adults undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

Introduction: There is limited information on the effects of nutritional intervention in Adolescent and Young Adults (AYA) patients.

Objective: To investigate nutritional intervention in AYA patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).

Methods: The subjects were 14 AYA patients (16–29 years old, 6 females) who underwent allo-HSCT (transplantation date: day 0) at Shizuoka Cancer Center Blood and Stem Cell Transplantation Department from 2007 to 2015. Nutritional and clinical indexes were evaluated from the day before pretreatment to the day after the end of intravenous nutrition.

Results: The rate of weight loss was correlated with the rate of loss of skeletal muscle mass (r = 0.87, p < 0.01), basal energy expenditure (r = 0.54, p < 0.05), and total protein supply (r = 0.56, p < 0.05). Oral calorie intake was correlated with the course of nutritional-related adverse events (r = –0.94, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Body weight loss during the course of allo-HSCT in AYA patients was associated with changes in skeletal muscle mass, basal energy expenditure, and total protein supply. Early nutritional intervention is beneficial for reduction of adverse events in allo-HSCT.