Interventions
colorectal cancer
COLORECTAL CANCER
The study was approved by the Scientific Ethical Committee (Jr.: SJ-607) and all patients signed informed consent forms before inclusion. The full intervention has been published in detail elsewhere to ensure replicationThe nutritional intervention consisted of a consultation with a dietician within the first week after inclusion of approximately 1 h in length and a uniform prescription of protein supplements (30 g of protein twice a day using the TMP-90 Shake® (Friesland Campina, Netherlands)) and vitamins (vitamin D with calcium (38 µg + 400 mg Unikalk Mega®, Orkla Health A/S, Denmark) and multivitamin (Apovit Multi®, Apovit, Denmark)).The expanded medical check-up was conducted at baseline by the principal investigator and included evaluation of baseline tests, bloodwork, referral to alcohol and smoking cessation, and possible drug discontinuation or dose reduction using the Danish health authority’s guidelinesThe control group received standard of care defined by local and national guidelines for the surgical treatment of colorectal cancer at both centres. This included intravenous iron for anaemic patients (haemoglobin <11.28 g/dl (7 mmol/l) for both men and women) with a postponement of surgery approximately 4 weeks after initial infusion, preoperative lung physiotherapy, patient education, limited fasting, carbohydrate loading and full enhanced recovery after surgery as described by the 2018 Guidelines for colorectal cancer