Diet Intervention in MPNs - Is the Mediterranean Diet the Answer?
The Mediterranean Diet was picked as the best diet overall for 2023, according to new rankings released by US News & World Report. A Mediterranean diet consistently has been linked to a lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mortality.
The traditional Mediterranean diet is rich in fish, olive oil, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes and lower in red meat and dairy with modest alcohol consumption. Studies suggest that adherence to this diet can both reduce an individual’s risk of developing cancer and delay the progression of cancer in those with a cancer diagnosis.
Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are a related group of blood cancers. In these disorders, the bone marrow cells that produce blood cells develop and function abnormally. The three main types of MPN are polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). In addition to developing on its own, myelofibrosis may also develop as a result of ET or PMF. Chronic inflammation is thought to be integral to the development of these clonal hematologic disorders.
Improving diet may be important for MPN patients where symptom burden is secondary to inflammation. The Mediterranean diet’s been found to reduce inflammatory proteins in patients with cardiovascular disease and doctors think it may have a similar benefit to MPN patients.
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Results from the NUTRIENT clinical trial have now been released and they suggest that a Mediterranean diet intervention is feasible in the MPN patient population and can improve symptom burden.
NUTRIENT was a randomized clinical trial designed to determine the feasibility of an education-focused Mediterranean diet intervention among MPN patients. Patients were divided into one of two groups, the Mediterranean diet or USDA nutritional guidelines. Groups received equal but separate education with registered dietician counseling and written dietary resources.
Results showed a significantly larger number of participants in the Mediterranean diet group were adherent to the assigned eating pattern over an entire15-week study period. As compared to the USDA diet, the Mediterranean diet had a better effect on alleviating MPN symptoms. The length of the diet intervention and intensity are important factors in alleviating MPN symptoms.
According to the study authors “Diet interventions may be further developed as a component of MPN care, and potentially even be incorporated into the management of other chronic clonal hematologic conditions.”
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.09.23289740v1
