Tumori, Sebastiani (Sinpe): “Nutritional treatment in steps and after dietary counseling”

“Oral nutritional supplements (Ons) play an important role in the path of cancer patients at risk of malnutrition or already malnourished. Nutritional treatment consists of various steps. The first is dietary counseling aimed at fortifying the normal diet by mouth. If this is not is able to respond to the patient’s protein and caloric needs, the addition of an oral nutritional supplement of different types is indicated: complete nutritional, when they bring energy with macronutrients micronutrients; modular, with a single nutrient or enriched with specific substances as needed defined”, said Federica Sebastiani, specialist in Food Science, PhD in Experimental and Clinical Oncology at the Department of Maternal-Child and Adult Medical and Surgical Sciences of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and Sinpe referent (Italian Society of Artificial Nutrition and Metabolism), at Adnkronos Salute commenting on the results of a survey – carried out by the young sections of Aiom, the Italian Association of Medical Oncology; Airo, the Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology and Sico, the Italian Society of Oncological Surgery – which reveals how 80% of cancer patients suffer from malnutrition and less than 30% receive adequate treatment.

“An impressive meta-analysis – explains Sebastiani – demonstrated that, in cancer patients, counseling plus supplements, during radio and/or chemotherapy treatment, is able to have a significantly positive impact on body weight. Other studies – he continues – have shown that, in head and neck cancer patients, counseling with an oral nutritional supplement has achieved an improvement in nutritional parameters, quality of life and better tolerance of cancer therapies. Other studies – he continues – have also shown that even patients with stomach cancer and undergoing surgery and who receive, after discharge, an oral supplement with a fortified diet, are able to obtain an optimization of the oral food intake, a weight maintenance, better tolerance to post-operative chemotherapy and greater containment of muscle mass. Loss of muscle mass and function (sarcopenia) – recalls Sebastiani – is a negative prognostic factor in cancer patients. It is documented that a nutritional therapy together with physical activity can prevent, or at least contain, the loss of muscle mass and this intervention can also contemplate the oral nutritional supplement, if the target of providing the right energy and the adequate intake must be achieved protein”.

In summary, “in the cancer patient at risk of malnutrition or already malnourished who maintains a functional gastrointestinal system – Sebastiani reiterates – the combined therapy consists of a fortified diet, defined with the advice of an expert professional, with the addition of more or less high-calorie or high-protein, is able to obtain a statistically significant result on body weight, on the optimization of oral food intake and – he concludes – on quality of life”.