Nutritional Status of Pediatric Cancer Patients at Diagnosis and Correlations with Treatment, Clinical Outcome and the Long-Term Growth and Health of Survivors.

Vassiliki Diakatou,Tonia Vassilakou

doi:10.3390/children7110218

Abstract

Malnutrition is caused either by cancer itself or by its treatment, and affects the clinical outcome, the quality of life (QOL), and the overall survival (OS) of the patient. However, malnutrition in children with cancer should not be accepted or tolerated as an inevitable procedure at any stage of the disease. A review of the international literature from 2014 to 2019 was performed. Despite the difficulty of accurately assessing the prevalence of malnutrition, poor nutritional status has adverse effects from diagnosis to subsequent survival. Nutritional status (NS) at diagnosis relates to undernutrition, while correlations with clinical outcome are still unclear. Malnutrition adversely affects health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with cancer and collective evidence constantly shows poor nutritional quality in childhood cancer survivors (CCSs). Nutritional assessment and early intervention in pediatric cancer patients could minimize the side effects of treatment, improve their survival, and reduce the risk of nutritional morbidity with a positive impact on QOL, in view of the potentially manageable nature of this risk factor.

Highlights

The importance of nutrition in children with cancer is indisputable [1]
This review aims to identify nutritional status (NS) alterations that occur during the management of childhood cancer
Pediatric cancer includes a heterogeneous group of diagnoses, while the repercussions, prognosis and the therapeutic planning differ according to tumor location, histological type, nature as well as biological behavior and age of incidence [16]

Summary

Introduction

The importance of nutrition in children with cancer is indisputable [1]. Nutrition influences most cancer control parameters in pediatric oncology, including prevention, epidemiology, biology, treatment, supportive care, recuperation, and survival [2]. NS of pediatric cancer patients has been researched for a lengthy time and nutritional problems have long-been recognized [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Publications on childhood cancer related undernutrition have appeared since the 1970s [9], its management remains variable [1,4,10], with many undernourished children not timely recognized and not treated [11]. Nutrition related problems can affect the quality of life (QOL) of survivors, as well as predispose them to other chronic diseases [2]. This fact highlights the need for scientific management and nutritional support for this population

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