Dietary Habits of Women with Gynecological Cancer before, during and after Treatment: A Long-Term Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background and aim

Over 21,000 new cases of gynecological cancer are diagnosed annually in the United Kingdom. There is evidence of cancer patients altering their eating habits before and during treatment. Some women with gynecological cancer make conscious decisions to change their diet as self-management for their cancer symptoms and to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Little is known about the impact of treatment on dietary habits. This study aimed to identify and describe the dietary habits of women with gynecological cancer before, during and after treatment.

Methods

This was a longitudinal prospective cohort study using seven-day food diaries to collect dietary intake data before treatment and up to two years after gynecological cancer treatment. Nutritics© software was used for analysis of the diaries. A general linear mixed model was used for the statistical analysis, adjusted for multiple comparisons.

Results

15 women with gynecological cancer participated; 69 food diaries were analyzed. There were no statistically significant changes in dietary habits or weight for this cohort during the two-year follow-up, except for caffeine intake which increased at 2 years (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Despite the importance of maintaining a healthy dietary intake and weight after cancer treatment, participants' diets did not change.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Ann Muls is part-time funded for a clinical doctoral research fellowship (CDRF-2014-05-004) supported by the National Institute for Health Research and Health Education England. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research, Health Education England, or the Department of Health.