Nutrición basada en la evidencia en el cáncer como enfermedad caquectizante

Cachexia is characterized by progressive and involuntary weight loss. Cancer is considered to be a cachexia-inducing disease because of the prevalence and importance of cachexia in malignant neoplastic disease. It is well known that malnutrition frequently contributes to the death of cancer patients. However, before routinely recommending nutritional therapy, the real therapeutic benefits it confers should be identified. The present article aims to provide an update on the role of nutritional support in oncological patients, especially in those with cachexia, based on the best scientific evidence available. An exhaustive literature search was performed in Medline and EBM databases (Reviews Multifile PubMed). Few studies have evaluated nutrition as a therapeutic modality in cancer-induced cachexia. Most studies do not differentiate between patients with or without malnutrition, and even use severe malnutrition as an exclusion criterion. Nutritional support has a beneficial effect in cancer patients but is limited to a small group with moderate to severe malnutrition. The available data suggest that the increase in caloric-protein intake through conventional artificial nutrition does not improve the nutritional status of patients with cachexiainducing disease and does not alter the progression of cachexia. Recent investigations center on the anti-cachexia effect of fish oil but current evidence is still not definitive.