Effects of a high‐protein, increased‐fibre, dry diet supplemented with omega‐3 fatty acids on quality of life in dogs undergoing chemotherapy

• Published in: Veterinary & comparative oncology Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 2 - 11
• Main Authors: Heinze, Cailin R., Burgess, Kristine E., Barber, Lisa G., Rassnick, Kenneth M., Post, Gerald S., Segaloff, Richard, Bayle, Julie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-03-2024
• Subjects: cancer; diet; dietary fibre; dietary proteins; omega‐3 fatty acids; quality of life; cancer; dietary fibre; omega-3 fatty acids; diet; quality of life; dietary proteins
• ISSN: 1476-5810; 1476-5829
• DOI: 10.1111/vco.12940

Quality of life (QOL) in dogs with cancer is a key consideration in the assessment of cancer treatment options. Despite interest in dietary strategies to improve management of oncology patients, there have been very few clinical studies showing the impact of diet on adverse effects of chemotherapy in dogs. This study was a randomised, controlled, double‐blinded, multicenter clinical trial to investigate a high‐protein, increased‐fibre diet supplemented with omega‐3 fatty acids, for dogs with cancer undergoing standard‐of‐care chemotherapy. Client‐owned dogs with newly diagnosed grade 2 or higher mast cell tumours (or non‐resectable/incompletely resected tumours) or multicentric lymphoma were randomised to receive the test diet (n = 24) or control diet (n = 21) for 8 weeks. Primary outcomes were QOL assessments, faecal scores, and blood concentrations of C‐reactive protein and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1. Of 12 QOL parameters, 10 significantly improved from baseline to Week 8 in the test group compared with one in the control group. However, differences between the two groups were only statistically significant for ‘frequency of signs of illness’ (P = .009). There were no significant differences in the incidence of any adverse events, including gastrointestinal adverse events or clinically significant differences in laboratory parameters or faecal scores between the two groups. The absence of an observed negative impact of the test diet, combined with the magnitude of QOL improvements associated with the diet, suggest that a larger trial is warranted.