Resumen de Integral nutritional approach to the care of cancer patients: results from a Delphi panel
Manuel Durán Poveda, P. Jiménez Fonseca, Mariola Sirvent Ochando, Pedro Pablo García Luna, José Luis Pereira Cunill, Beatriz Lema Marqués, María Teresa Parejo Arrondo, Cristóbal Belda Iniesta
Introduction Malnutrition is a common complication in cancer patients and can negatively affect the outcome of treatments. This study aimed to reach a consensus on nutritional needs and optimize nutritional care in the management of cancer patients at a national level.
Methods A qualitative, multicenter, two-round Delphi study involving 52 specialists with experience in nutritional support in cancer patients was conducted.
Results Regarding the presence of malnutrition, 57.7% of the participants stated that < 30% of the patients had malnutrition at the time of diagnosis, 40.4% considered that 31–50% had malnutrition during cancer treatment, and 26.9% that > 50% at the end of the treatment. Forty percent of participants believed that the main objective of nutritional treatment was to improve quality of life and 34.6% to improve tolerability and adherence to chemotherapy. The quality nutritional care provided at their centers was rated as medium–low by 67.3%. Enteral and parenteral nutrition was administered to less than 10% and less than 5% of patients in 40.4 and 76.9% of cases, respectively. In relation to nutritional screening at the time of diagnosis, 62.9% of participants considered than screening to assess the risk of malnutrition was performed in < 30% of patients.
Conclusions There is an important variability in the management of cancer patient nutrition, which is associated with the absence of a national consensus on nutritional support in this field. Given the incidence of nutritional disorders in cancer patients, a specialist in clinical nutrition (regardless of his/her specialty) should be integrated into the strategic cancer plan.
