Mediterranean Diet and Naltrexone/Bupropion Treatment for Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Breast Cancer Survivors and Non-Cancer Participants: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Introduction: The objective of this pilot randomized controlled trial was to investigate the combined effect of a Mediterranean diet and naltrexone/bupropion treatment on body weight, metabolic parameters, and quality of life in overweight or obese breast cancer survivors. Methods: Forty-four breast cancer survivors were randomly assigned to receive the Mediterranean diet plus naltrexone/bupropion medication (breast cancer survivor MeDiet NB group) or the Mediterranean diet alone (breast cancer survivor MeDiet-only group). Twenty-eight age-matched non-cancer patients were instructed to consume the Mediterranean diet plus naltrexone/bupropion medication (non-cancer MeDiet NB group). After the 8-week intervention, changes in body weight, metabolic parameters, nutrient intake, and quality of life of the three groups were assessed. Results: Significant weight loss of 2.8 kg was noted for the breast cancer survivor MeDiet NB group, 1.8 kg for the breast cancer survivor MeDiet-only group, and 2.5 kg for the non-cancer MeDiet NB group after 8 weeks ( P 0.05 versus baseline by Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test). All three groups also exhibited significantly lower fasting glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance levels ( P 0.05). Quality of life as assessed by self-reported questionnaires showed improvement in all participants ( P 0.05). However, there were no significant differences of changes in body weights, metabolic parameters, and quality of life among the three groups or between the MeDiet NB and MeDiet-only groups. Conclusion: We found that the Mediterranean diet, with or without naltrexone/bupropion treatment, facilitates weight loss, improves metabolic parameters, and increases quality of life. The combination of the Mediterranean diet with naltrexone/bupropion treatment did not produce superior changes when compared to the Mediterranean diet alone. Trial Registration: This trial was retrospectively registered on 10 July 2018 as NCT03581630 at ClinicalTrials.gov ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03581630 ).
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