Doctors pay great attention to restricting the diet of leukemia patients, in order to protect them from foodborne illnesses, especially since their immune system is weak during the treatment period.
A recent study confirms that this preventive measure is still necessary.
### Diet for Cancer Patients
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that following a diet aimed at reducing exposure to foodborne pathogens provides effective protection for leukemia patients undergoing treatment from the risk of serious infection.
Co-principal investigator Ji-Hyun Lee, professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions, said:
* “Given the evidence from this study, we cannot change the current standards of care.”
* “This study provides very important information for patients at risk of infection.”
These findings come at a time when some doctors have begun to question the necessity of strict dietary restriction, which includes avoiding raw fruits and vegetables, unpasteurized dairy products, and undercooked animal protein, and whether this restriction contributes to malnutrition in patients undergoing intensive cancer treatments, as the researchers explained.
This diet is known as “neutropenic,” named after neutropenia, which is a decrease in the level of white blood cells known as neutrophils, as the researchers explained.
The researchers explained that chemotherapy weakens these cells, increasing the risk of infection, and that the greatest risk of infection comes from gastrointestinal diseases caused by microbes found in raw foods.
However, the neutropenic diet has been applied for more than half a century without clinical trial results to support it, according to the researchers.
## Study Halted!
In the new study, more than 200 patients with leukemia were randomly divided into two groups: a group following the neutropenic diet and another group following a more flexible diet, while undergoing chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation.
The more flexible diet encouraged eating at least one serving of fresh fruits or vegetables daily and allowed patients to eat pasteurized yogurt.
The results showed that more than 31% of patients who followed the more flexible diet developed a serious infection, compared to 20% of those who followed the restricted neutropenic diet.
As a result, the trial was stopped early due to the high rate of serious infection among people who followed the more flexible diet, according to the researchers.
The experiment also revealed that patients in both groups did not consume enough calories for proper nutrition, which is likely due to the side effects of treatment that cause nausea and loss of appetite.
