CACHEXIA AND CANCER

In this era of cost effective medicine, nutrition support must be util ized appropriately in the cancer patient, Nutrition support can only b e justified as a supportive therapy in severely malnourished patients, Nutrition support is indicated in severely malnourished patients unde rgoing surgery, aggressive chemotherapy, or radiation therapy. Our goa l is to prevent treatment-related morbidity and mortality, deliver opt imal anti-neoplastic therapy, alleviate symptoms of cancer cachexia, a nd improve quality of life, Future research will be directed to unders tanding the underlying biologic mechanisms of cancer cachexia, Innovat ive clinical interventions must be designed to effectively treat the c omplex clinical syndrome of cancer cachexia.