ABSTRACT
One of the most signicant nutritional issues that can arise during cancer treatment is malnutrition. Malnutrition may result from the disease process, from the use of antineoplastic therapy, or both. Side effects related to common oncology therapies, including chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and surgery, are the key contributors in promoting deterioration in nutritional status. Additionally, deterioration in nutritional status has been found to predict outcome prior to the initiation of therapy [1]. Malnutrition reduces quality of life (QOL), decreases performance status, and increases morbidity and mortality. Malnutrition adversely affects tissue function and humoral and cellular immunity. It is not surprising that a signicant proportion of patients with cancer end up being critically ill because of those factors [2]. Aggressive treatment and resulting complications such as infections can increase the degree of malnutrition increasing morbidity and mortality [3].
