The Efficacy of WeChat-based Multidisciplinary Full-course Nutritional Management Program

As the most malignant type of cancer in the female reproductive system, ovarian cancer (OC) has become the second leading cause of death among Chinese women. Chemotherapy is the main treatment for OC patients, and its numerous adverse effects can easily lead to malnutrition. It is difficult to centrally manage OC patients in the intervals between chemotherapy. The utility of WeChat, an effective and more cost-efficient mobile tool, in chronic disease management has been highlighted.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most malignant type of tumor in the female reproductive system with poor prognosis. According to the latest statistics, there are 196,000 estimated OC cases, 45,000 estimated new cases, and 29,000 estimated OC deaths in China, making this disease become the second leading cause of death among Chinese women. Approximately 90% of patients with OC receive chemotherapy. The carboplatin-paclitaxel combination as a first-line chemotherapy regimen for OC has shown considerable efficacy over the past 30 years. Unfortunately, one of the major adverse effects of chemotherapy is malnutrition. Malnutrition is defined as a nutritional condition in which deficiencies of energy, protein and other nutrients have measurable adverse effects on tissue/body form, function and clinical outcomes. The most common adverse effects of chemotherapy, including anorexia, altered taste and smell, food aversions, nausea and vomiting, mucositis, xerostomia, constipation, diarrhea and early satiety, negatively affect nutritional status. Malnutrition has been shown to be one of the leading causes of death in OC patients. It not only severely diminishes the efficacy of treatment, but leads to increased complications, decreased quality of life, prolonged hospitalization, increased healthcare costs, and shorter survival time. However, existing nutritional interventions lack personalized guidance for patients' nutritional status and symptoms during chemotherapy. In addition, it is difficult to centrally manage patients who are homebound between chemotherapy. Therefore, the construction of personalized nutritional management programs and the development of innovative telemedicine interventions for OC patients undergoing chemotherapy has become an urgent issue. WeChat, a very popular social application in China, has more than 1 billion monthly active users. It is easy to operate and offers multiple functions such as text and voice messaging, free voice and video calls, group chats, subscription to public accounts and applets, etc. WeChat has been demonstrated to be an effective and more cost-efficient technological tool for chronic disease management. Currently, the application of WeChat in cancer patients mainly focuses on discharge follow-up, symptom management, cancer prevention, and intervention of psychological problems. The effect of WeChat application in nutritional management of cancer patients has not been explored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to implement a continuous follow-up strategy and health monitoring based on a WeChat platform for OC patients undergoing chemotherapy during the chemotherapy interval to ensure that each phase of chemotherapy is delivered on schedule and to improve the survival rate of cancer patients.