Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common distressing complaint of breast cancer (BC) patients treated with chemotherapy. Nutritional quality plays a pivotal role in CRF, while increased interest towards new pharmacological agents has been observed. Melatonin, an endogenous hormone that regulates the human sleep–wake cycle, could alleviate CRF. In the present randomized, placebo-controlled 3-month trial, we investigated the effects of melatonin intake (i.e., 1 mg/day) vs. placebo in BC patients on CRF. In both arms, the Mediterranean diet (MD) was implemented. Medical history, anthropometry and blood withdrawal were performed. CRF was evaluated by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Fatigue questionnaire and MD adherence by the MedDietScore. In total, 49 BC women (median age 52 years) were recruited, namely N = 23 in the intervention arm and N = 26 in the placebo arm. At baseline, CRF was positively associated with body mass index (BMI), even when adjusted for age, waist circumference and blood indices related to disease prognosis (beta = −0.882,p= 0.003). At 3 months, both groups showed a BMI decrease (p< 0.05), but only the intervention group improved CRF compared to baseline (p= 0.003). No differences in CRF were observed between the groups. In conclusion, melatonin oral supplementation could ameliorate CRF in BC patients.
癌症相关疲劳是接受化疗的乳腺癌患者常见且令人困扰的主诉。营养质量在癌症相关疲劳中起着关键作用，同时人们对新型药物疗法的关注度日益增加。褪黑素作为一种调节人体睡眠-觉醒周期的内源性激素，可能缓解癌症相关疲劳。本研究通过为期3个月的随机安慰剂对照试验，探讨了乳腺癌患者服用褪黑素（每日1毫克）与安慰剂对癌症相关疲劳的影响。两组患者均采用地中海饮食干预。研究收集了患者的病史、人体测量学数据并进行血液检测。采用慢性病治疗功能评估-疲劳量表评估癌症相关疲劳程度，通过地中海饮食评分量表评估饮食依从性。共纳入49例乳腺癌女性患者（中位年龄52岁），其中干预组23例，安慰剂组26例。基线分析显示，即使校正年龄、腰围及与疾病预后相关的血液指标后，癌症相关疲劳仍与体重指数呈正相关（β=-0.882，p=0.003）。干预3个月后，两组患者体重指数均显著下降（p<0.05），但仅干预组的癌症相关疲劳较基线水平有所改善（p=0.003）。组间比较未发现癌症相关疲劳的差异。结论表明，口服褪黑素补充剂可能改善乳腺癌患者的癌症相关疲劳症状。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家