Health-related quality of life

Being diagnosed with cancer is an emotionally traumatic event that adversely affects a patient’s sense of overall function and wellbeing. Inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, with the inflammatory process aiding the proliferation and survival of malignant cells, suppressing the adaptive immune response while promoting tumour metastasis. Research has shown that rising systemic inflammation inversely correlates with the patients’ reported quality of life (QoL) and is a vital underlying mechanism leading to poor prognostic outcomes in advanced cancer. Chronic inflammation alongside cancer treatment regimens also contributes to microglial activation in the central nervous system, causing neuroinflammation. This leads to behavioural comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, cognitive impairment, and neuropathic pain, which also adversely affect the QoL. Cancer-related malnutrition due to the activation of systemic inflammation is also a predictive factor for poor QoL. Hence, targeting inflammation is a promising approach to enhancing cancer patients’ QoL and improving treatment outcomes. Rice bran arabinoxylan compound (RBAC) is used among cancer patients to support weakened immune function during and after conventional cancer treatment. RBAC has been shown to be a safe and effective plant-based biological response modifier with immunomodulating and anti-inflammatory properties that can improve QoL. RBAC modulates the immune and inflammatory responses via direct absorption into the bloodstream and indirect modulation of gut microbiota. Numerous case studies and clinical trials have demonstrated improved QoL using RBAC among cancer patients. However, further research is required to substantiate the effect of RBAC on the QoL of cancer patients using validated instruments.