Nutritional Support as Part of Comprehensive Care for Palliative Patients With Cancer: A Review

Abstract

The role of nutritional support in incurable patients with cancer remains a topic of ongoing debate. However, clinical guidelines on palliative care recommend evaluating nutritional deficits, as fasting worsens functional status and quality of life, leads to unplanned hospitalizations, and decreases survival.

This review presents current data on the management of anorexia–cachexia syndrome as part of comprehensive palliative care. The literature search was conducted using the Scientific Electronic Library (eLIBRARY.RU) and PubMed, limited to publications from 2000 to 2024.

Based on our analysis, the necessity of individualized nutritional support has been identified as a key component of cachexia management aimed at improving quality of life. When oral intake is insufficient, initial measures include consultations with dietitians and other specialists, along with management of dyspeptic symptoms. If these measures prove ineffective, sip feeding and home enteral tube feeding are indicated. The effectiveness of pharmacological methods for managing cancer anorexia–cachexia syndrome remains a matter of debate. The need for prescribed therapeutic exercise as a measure to prevent the progression of sarcopenia is also actively discussed.

Thus, although the management of cancer anorexia–cachexia syndrome in palliative care is primarily symptomatic, individualized nutritional support combined with limited physical activity and symptom-directed therapy can improve the quality of life in palliative patients with cancer.

Keywords

malnutrition / enteral nutrition / nutritional support / palliative care / sarcopenia / quality of life

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