Effect of Chocolate on Older Cancer Patients in Palliative Care: A Randomised Controlled Study

Background: Older advanced stage cancer patients, with changes in metabolic and nutritional status, represent an important demand for palliative care. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of 4 weeks of chocolate consumption on the nutritional status, quality of life, body composition, oxidative stress and inflammaory activity of older cancer patients in palliative care. Methods Older cancer patients in palliative care with ambulatory monitoring were randomized to the following groups: control (CG, n = 15), intervention with 55% cocoa chocolate (IG1, n = 16) and intervention with white chocolate (IG2, n = 15) groups and evaluated before and after 4 weeks of treatment for nutritional status, food consumption, anthropometry, body composition, and laboratory parameters, and quality of life using the instrument of the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer. Results IG1 progressed with increased screening (p < 0.01) and nutritional (p = 0.04) scores on the Mini Nutritional Assessment tool. Anthropometry and body composition did not change. Regarding antioxidant capacity, reduced glutathione levels increased in IG2 (p = 0.04) and were higher than in IG1 (p < 0.01). Malondealdehyde levels were reduced in IG2 (p = 0.02) at the end of the study. Regarding quality of life, functionality improved in IG1, with a higher score in the functional domain (p = 0.03), and in the role functioning (p < 0.01) and in the social (p < 0.01) subdomains. Conclusions The consumption of chocolate with a greater cocoa content may contribute to the improvement of nutritional status and functionality among older cancer patients in palliative care. The consumption of white chocolate was associated with improved oxidative stress. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04367493 - April 29, 2020. Retrospectively registered.