Nutritional problems in children and adolescents with cancer

In pediatric cancer patients lack of appetite, malnutrition and loss of weight are complications that cannot always be avoided, which are caused by the tumor itself or by the treatment the patients need (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery). Solid tumors, especially in advanced stages, are among the forms of cancer involving the highest risk of malnutrition. The resulting cachexia can have a negative influence on how well a patient tolerates chemotherapy and also on the metabolism of the chemotherapy agents and infection rates, and thus on the course of the illness. It is therefore important that nutritional status should be assessed regularly from an early point in the illness and that consistent multidisciplinary advice on nutrition be given from the time of diagnosis onward and throughout the period of chemotherapy, so as to avoid malnutrition if at all possible rather than trying to cure it later. It may be that enteral nutrition becomes necessary, and unless this constant monitoring and advice are provided there is no chance that the patient will see it as something to help rather than as a punishment.