The nursing contribution to nutritional care in cancer cachexia

Cancer cachexia is a complex syndrome. Its defining feature is involuntary weight loss, which arises, in part, because of muscle atrophy and is accompanied by functional decline. International expert consensus recommends that nutritional support and counselling is a component of multimodal therapy f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2015-11, Vol.74 (4), p.413-418
Main Author: Hopkinson, Jane B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cachexia - etiology
Cachexia - nursing
Cachexia - therapy
Cancer therapies
Conference on ‘Nutrition and age-related muscle loss, sarcopenia and cachexia’
Counseling
Dietitians
Exercise
Humans
Intervention
Malnutrition
Medical personnel
Neoplasms - complications
Nurses
Nursing
Nutrition
Nutrition Therapy
Oncology Nursing
Palliative care
Patients
Physical fitness
Professional Role
Quality of life
Sarcopenia
Society
Symposium 4: Sarcopenia and cachexia and social, clinical and public health dimensions
Symptom management
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Summary:Cancer cachexia is a complex syndrome. Its defining feature is involuntary weight loss, which arises, in part, because of muscle atrophy and is accompanied by functional decline. International expert consensus recommends that nutritional support and counselling is a component of multimodal therapy for cancer cachexia, as poor nutritional intake can contribute to progression of the syndrome. The present paper focuses on what is presently known about the nursing contribution to nutritional care in cancer cachexia. There is potential for nurses to play an important role. However, obstacles to this include lack of a robust evidence base to support their nutritional care practices and unmet need for education about nutrition in cancer. The nursing role's boundaries and the outcomes of nurse-delivered nutritional care in cancer cachexia are both uncertain and should be investigated.
ISSN:0029-6651
1475-2719
DOI:10.1017/S0029665115002384