Editor’s Pick: Nutrition interventions to improve the appetite of adults undergoing cancer treatment: a systematic review

2020    Throughout the year, we will share articles from the MASCC journal Supportive Care in Cancer. The “Editor’s Pick” section, chosen by the journal’s Editor-In-Chief, Dr. Fred Ashbury, PhD, will cover a variety of topics to meet the many interests of our membership.

This month we feature “Nutrition interventions to improve the appetite of adults undergoing cancer treatment: a systematic review.” Loss of appetite is a common side effect of cancer and cancer treatments resulting in risk of malnutrition and cancer cachexia. This review aims to systematically determine nutrition interventions that improve appetite and nutrition-related outcomes of adults with cancer undergoing cancer treatments, and to identify appetite assessment tools used to measure appetite.

Members who are interested in nutritional support in cancer are invited to join the Nutrition Study Group. MASCC members can join up to three study groups. We offer several interest groups devoted to specific topic areas in supportive cancer care.  Study Group members conduct research, develop practice guidelines, design educational materials for practitioners to share with patients, and work to raise awareness about supportive care issues.

The purpose of the Nutrition Study Group is to increase awareness of guidelines for the appropriate use of nutritional support in cancer patients and to promote appropriate use of palliative and therapeutic strategies in the management of anorexia and weight loss in patients with advanced cancer. The group seeks to develop and coordinate new evidence-based guidelines and to further improve clinical practice by encouraging research in areas where scientific literature is lacking. For more information about all of our Study Groups and how to join, click here.