Abstract
Anorexia and kachexia occur in up to 80% of patients with advanced cancer. This article summarizes causes and discusses the possibilities of its pharmacological and nutritional influence.
Planning of correct nutrition in cancer patients should be integrated into treatment from the outset. The first method of choice is a natural oral nutrition with meals of small volume but high energy content.
If this fails, we choice for pharmaceutical enteral nutrition: sipping, either nasoenteral or nasogastric intubation to administer nutrition, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Parenteral nutrition in oncology is indicated in patients with digestive failure following extensive bowel resection and patients with severe enteropathy following tumor radiotherapy.
Parenteral nutrition should not be routinely used for extending the terminal stages of incurable disease.