Review article
Nutrition in Cancer Patients
Renata Dobrila Dintinjana
; Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Arnela Redžović
; Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Aleksandar Čubranić
; Gastroenterology Department, Internal Clinic, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Marin Dintinjana
; Private General Practice, Rijeka, Croatia
Nenad Vanis
; Endoscopy Unit, Gastroenterology Department, University Hospital Center Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
Cachexia is defi ned as an unintended loss of stable weight exceeding 10%. Patients with advanced cachexia express
anorexia, early satiety, severe weight loss, weakness, anemia, and edema. Anorexia represents the result of a failure of the
usual appetite signals whereas cachexia is the debilitating state of involuntary weight loss. This syndrome, referred to as
the »cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome« (CACS) and usually consists of a combination of anorexia, tissue wasting,
malnutrition, weight loss and loss of compensatory increase in feeding. CACS represents the result of a complex interaction
between cancer growth and host response and is associated with a poor response to chemotherapy and with an increase
in drug-related toxicity. In advanced cachexia (mostly in metastatic cancer and terminally disease) any interventions with
nutritional suplements are ineffective. Therefore, nutritional support in the reversion of tumor cachexia and in the importance
of maintaining patient weight, muscle mass, quality of life, has the exceptional importance, becouse good nutritional
status of patients leads to the possibility of more aggressive and longer treatment and thus to longer survival.
Keywords
cancer; cachexia; anorexia-cachexia syndrome; malnutrition; nutrition supplements
Hrčak ID:
147452
URI
Publication date:
26.12.2014.
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