Nutritional support for cancer patients during chemoradiation treatment

Abstract

An analysis of publications in the medical databases e-Library, PubMed, and Medline (2005–2024) was conducted to evaluate the impact of nutritional support on the tolerability of antitumor chemoradiotherapy. Based on the data collected, it was revealed that chemoradiotherapy is linked to a high risk of developing protein-energy malnutrition. Consequently, the initial nutritional deficiency and sarcopenia result in either a refusal to administer chemotherapy in favor of radiation treatment alone, a forced reduction in the dose of a cytostatic medication, or the disruption of the chemoradiotherapy course. Patients with malignancies of the head and neck who have received chemoradiotherapy with previous induction chemotherapy are in the “red zone” for the risk of developing protein-energy malnutrition. Nutritional support is one of the instruments that enhances the likelihood of treatment implementation and mitigates the risk of drug and radiation toxicity.

The fundamental principles of nutritional support during chemoradiotherapy include timely prescription, adequacy, composition of a specialized mixture, and the choice of the most physiological way of its implementation. Supplementing nutritional support with feasible strength physical exercise triggers protein synthesis in skeletal muscles, increases muscular sensitivity to the anabolic properties of amino acids, and mitigates insulin resistance.

Keywords

malnutrition / nutritional support / sarcopenia / chemoradiotherapy

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