This clinical trial assesses an effective and translatable care model to understand and reduce the adverse effects that cancer patients experience during their treatment therapies and thereby enhance their well-being and quality of life. Excessive immune activation can affect multiple organs with the most common adverse effects being skin rash, diarrhea, colitis, fatigue, hypothyroidism and anorexia. A restrictive calorie diet, mostly of fat and complex carbohydrates, will mimic fasting and increase resiliency to protect patients from the adverse effects of cancer treatments, by managing the adverse side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) treatments in select cancer patients. The fast mimicking diet (FMD) (Xentigen®) is a calorie restrictive, low-calorie, low-protein, high complex carbohydrate, high-fat diet. The FMD program is a plant-based diet program designed to attain fasting-like effects while providing both macro- and micronutrients to minimize the burden of fasting and adverse effects. The FMD consists of 100% ingredients which are generally regarded as safe (GRAS) and comprises mainly of vegetable-based soups and broths, energy bars, energy drinks, cracker snacks, herbal teas, and supplements. Following a FMD may reduce the adverse effects that some cancer patients experience while following immunotherapy treatments.
Patients undergoing immunotherapy regardless of prior immunotherapy history
Age ≥ 18 years
Body mass index (BMI) > 19
Histological confirmation of advanced staged malignancies (stage 3 or 4) appropriate for the following types of immunotherapy: PD-1 Antibody (nivolumab, pembrolizumab), PD-L1 Antibody (atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab), CTLA-4 Antibody (ipilimumab) or any combination thereof
Age < 18 years
Pregnant women
Nursing mothers
Persons of childbearing potential who are unwilling to employ adequate contraception
Single group
Biospecimen Collection
Procedure/SurgeryUndergo blood sample collection
Dietary Intervention
Other interventionGiven FMD
Educational Intervention
Other interventionReceive educational guidelines
Electronic Health Record Review
Other interventionAncillary studies
Interview
Other interventionAncillary studies
Nutritional Assessment
Other interventionReceive nutrition counseling
Questionnaire Administration
Other interventionAncillary studies
Symptom Measurement
Symptoms will be measured using a modified version of the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. The modified version will contain specific items related to side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) including twelve GI symptoms, skin changes, and fatigue. The scale includes 24 items for which the participant reports on whether a symptom (e.g., pain, lack of energy, shortness of breath) occurred during the previous week, as well as any distress it may have caused. Questions are answered on a 0-4 or 0-4 scale (e.g., 1=Rarely, 2=Occasionally, 3=Frequently, 4=Almost Constantly).
Incidence of adverse events
Will grade the severity of symptoms using the CTCAE v3.0 scale. Will report descriptive analysis of rates and means. Patients will also be asked to report on any incidences of involuntary fasting due to their symptoms.
Physical function
Physical function will be measured using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function, a 10-item measure of mobility and extremity function that was specifically developed for use in cancer, populations. Items are scored from 1-5 each with higher scores indicating better physical function.
Quality of life - FACT-G
Quality of life will be measured using the seven item Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-G), an abbreviated version of the FACT-G. Each item is scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (very much). Higher overall scores correspond with better quality of life.
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