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CAlorie and Protein REstriction PROgram in Barrett's Esophagus Patients (CARE-PRO).

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Overweight and Obesity
Barrett's Esophagus
Interventions
Behavioral: Calorie and protein restriction diet
Registration Number
NCT03813381
Lead Sponsor
Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS
Brief Summary

The increasing incidence of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma (EAC) in several Western countries can be primarily ascribed to risk factors such as obesity, chronic gastroesophageal reflux, dietary habits and alcohol intake. Nevertheless, Barrett's Esophagus (BE), remains the main risk factor for EAC. Several studies supports the role played by the gut microbiota on the modulation of metabolic and immunological pathways. An abnormal state of the microbial ecosystem seems to be involved in the promotion and onset of various diseases, including cancer. Recent studies have shown that diet and lifestyle have an important modulatory role as protective or risk factors for oncological diseases. The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) released a review of the evidence that emerged from published studies in the field of nutrition and cancer prevention and summarized their findings into 10 recommendations. Several studies have also shown that a moderate caloric and/or protein restriction seems to be able to reduce the risk of neoplastic disease development. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a lifestyle-oriented intervention on body weight, waist circumference, biomarkers associated with cancer risk, esophageal microbiota composition and adherence to cancer prevention recommendations after 24 months in overweight or obese BE patients.

Methods and analysis: Patients are randomly divided into two arms, a control arm (CA) and an interventional arm (IA). The CA receives information about a correct lifestyle to prevent cancer.

The IA is involved in the two-year program of moderate caloric and protein restriction.

At the time of enrollment, anthropometric measurements will be recorded for each patient and they will be randomized to IA or CA. Blood samples will be obtained from each patient and blood glucose will be determined. Serum metabolic biomarkers will be measured in each serum sample and total proteins will be extracted from fresh frozen esophageal biopsy and will be analyzed to evaluate the insulin signal pathway.

To assess esophageal microbiota profiling, total genomic DNA (gDNA) will be extracted from matched fresh frozen biopsy.

In order to determine a score of adherence to cancer prevention recommendations, participants will be asked to complete a self-administrated questionnaire reflecting WCRF/AICR recommendations.

All the measurements will also occur at the end point, after two years from the enrollment.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
160
Inclusion Criteria
  • Histological confirmation of Barrett's esophagus without dysplasia or cancer aged ≥ 18 years with BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m^2
  • Willingness and ability to perform supervised Nordic walking session twice a month and self-planned physical activity at least 3 times a week
  • Signed informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
  • No histological confirmation of Barrett's esophagus
  • Cancer diagnosis within one year before trial begins
  • Presence of insulin-dependent diabetes
  • Denied informed consent

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Intervention Arm (IA)Calorie and protein restriction dietPatients randomized in the Intervention Arm (IA) will be given personalized diet based on calorie and protein restriction. Calorie restriction will be up to 600 kcal below patients' energy requirements and the amount of protein will be 0.8g of protein/Kg body weight mostly form plant-origin food.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Body weight changeBaseline and after 24 months

A 7% weight loss

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Metabolic serum biomarkersBaseline and after 24 months

Adiponectin (µg/ml)

Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR)Baseline and after 24 months

HOMA-IR index \[fasting plasma glucose (mg/dl) × fasting serum insulin(μU/ml)/405\]

Waist circumference reductionBaseline and after 24 months

Waist circumference (cm)

Esophageal microbiota compositionBaseline and after 24 months

To assess esophageal microbiota profiling, total gDNA will be extracted from fresh frozen biopsy. Specific primers for the bacterial V3-V4 hypervariable regions of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) will be used to amplify bacterial DNA \[≈ 500 bases pair (bp)\] to be sequenced by Illumina Miseq platform with 300 bp paired-end approach.

Expression of proteins involved on insulin and IGF1 receptors signal transductionBaseline and after 24 months

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)/Protein kinase B(Akt) pathway; mitogenic (ERK/MAPK) pathway

Adherence score to World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) recommendations for cancer prevention.Baseline and after 24 months

In order to determine a score of adherence to cancer prevention recommendations, participants will be asked to complete a 6-item self-administrated questionnaire reflecting six recommendations provided by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR).

A score of 1 will be assigned when the item is met and a score of 0 will be assigned when it is not. An answer that partially satisfies the item will be assigned a score of 0.5. Some recommendation (item) have sub-item (item 3,4 and 5). Even for sub-item the score will be 1-0 with 0.5 for partially satisfied item. For total score of item presenting sub-item, we will consider the score obtained by calculating the average score between the sub-item.

The final adherence score will derive from the mathematical sum of the individual scores obtained for each item. The maximum expected score will be equal to 6 (full adherence).

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