PD757 - IMPACT OF PERSONALIZED NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT ON SARCOPENIC PATIENTS WITH GASTRIC CANCER: DATA FROM THE NULIGAN PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

PD757

IMPACT OF PERSONALIZED NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT ON SARCOPENIC PATIENTS WITH GASTRIC CANCER: DATA FROM THE NULIGAN PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

M. Cintoni^1,2,*, E. Rinninella^1,2, P. C. Raoul¹, M. Palombaro¹, G. Pulcini¹, G. Egidi¹, L. Basso¹, A. Strippoli³, C. Pozzo³, A. Gasbarrini⁴, M. C. Mele^1,2

¹UOC Nutrizione Clinica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, ²Centro di Ricerca e Formazione in Nutrizione Umana, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, ³UOC Oncologia Medica, ⁴UOC Medicina Interna, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Roma, Italy

Rationale: Gastric cancer (GC) patients face a severe risk of disease-related malnutrition and secondary sarcopenia due to obstructive symptoms and systemic inflammation. This study evaluates the effect of personalized nutritional support in newly diagnosed sarcopenic GC patients.

Methods: The NULIGAN study is a prospective observational trial enrolling adult GC patients at diagnosis. Baseline nutritional assessment included Handgrip Strength (HGS) to evaluate muscle strength and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) for body composition. Patients diagnosed with sarcopenia received targeted, personalized nutritional support, which included a high-protein, low-volume ONS by default. Follow-up evaluations for nutritional status were performed at 6 months.

Results: A total of 176 GC patients were enrolled. During the study, 32 patients were excluded from the final analysis as they required enteral or parenteral nutrition. Out of the 144 included patients, 51 (35.4%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia at baseline and assigned to the targeted nutritional support arm. Following the 6-month intervention, sarcopenic patients demonstrated a borderline significant improvement in HGS (21.1±7.5 vs 23.2±9.3 kg; p=0.05) and Body Cell Mass Index (8.1±1.6 vs 8.9±1.3; p=0.06). Furthermore, critical parameters such as body weight (71.8±22.0 vs 69.3±15.6 kg; p=0.27) and phase angle (4.8±1.1 vs 5.0±0.9°; p=0.39) were successfully stabilized.

Conclusion: Early identification of sarcopenia combined with personalized nutritional support, including high-protein ONS, plays a crucial role in the management of GC patients. Our findings suggest that this proactive intervention is effective in mitigating weight loss, and actually improving functional muscle mass during oncological treatments.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared