Nutritional care to prevent malnutrition in cancer patients

Posted by Dr. Ho Thu Mai - Head of Nutrition Department, Vinmec Times City International Hospital

Cancer patients are at high risk of malnutrition because their disease condition and treatment both affect their nutritional status. Therefore, nutrition plays a very important role in the treatment of cancer.

1. Nutritional care for cancer patients

The rate of malnutrition in cancer patients ranges from 20-70%. The cost of treatment for malnourished cancer patients is higher than that of non-malnourished patients. About 10-20% of cancer deaths are due to malnutrition. Therefore, Nutrition plays a very important role in the process of cancer treatment. Only 30-60% of cancer patients in developed countries receive nutritional care during treatment. Patients with cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, head and neck, liver and lung are at high risk of malnutrition. The elderly and the late stage are more prone to malnutrition than the young, and the early stage.

Người gầy ăn suy dinh dưỡng — Suy dinh dưỡng có thể ảnh hưởng đến quá trình điều trị bệnh ung thư

2. Causes of malnutrition in cancer patients

Causes of malnutrition in cancer patients are:
Anorexia and nutritional deficiencies (lack of both quality and quantity): loss of appetite due to disease or side effects of disease treatment such as nausea, diarrhea, pain. Another cause is that the patient is sedentary and has mouth ulcers and gastrointestinal obstruction. Asthenia : Body weakness due to anorexia and weight loss due to increased metabolism and reduced dietary intake Muscle weakness : due to decreased nutrient reserves of the body due to disease process, due to decrease and loss of muscle mass

3. Assessment of nutritional status and diagnosis of malnutrition

Body Mass Index (BMI) : <18.5 Servings meet less than 60% of needs for 2 consecutive weeks Loss of more than 5% of body weight in 3 months Anorexia, loss of appetite Weakness, loss of appetite Muscle mass Tests for risk factors: CRPs, albumin, protein, micronutrients Reduced physical activity

Chỉ số BMI — Dựa trên chỉ số BMI để đánh giá tình trạng suy dinh dưỡng của người bệnh

4. Nutritional treatment and intervention

Nutritional intervention depends on nutrition, disease status, nutritional status, appetite, cancer type, disease stage, and response to treatment of each patient. Diet of cancer patients needs to be consulted by a nutritionist. Dietary energy averages from 25-30 Kcal/kg/day and protein from 1.2-1.5 g/kg/day. The specificity of cancer patients is the loss of muscle mass, so the diet needs to add essential amino acids or high doses of Leucine to help increase protein synthesis.
Early treatment and care for cancer patients to avoid malnutrition. Because malnutrition makes the organs not recover. Recommendations on nutritional care for cancer patients should be made as soon as possible to benefit the patient and support the treatment of the disease.

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Bài viết này được viết cho người đọc tại Sài Gòn, Hà Nội, Hồ Chí Minh, Phú Quốc, Nha Trang, Hạ Long, Hải Phòng, Đà Nẵng.