Why the oncologist should consider the nutritional status of the elderly cancer patient

•Malnutrition has a high prevalence in elderly cancer patients.•Malnutrition adversely affects the outcome (survival, quality of life, compliance with therapy, response to therapy).•In patients with sarcopenic obesity, there is a major risk of chemotherapy toxicity if doses are calculated on the body surface.

Epidemiologic studies show that malnutrition frequently afflicts elderly cancer patients. Malnutrition, (expressed as weight loss, or depletion of some body compartments or alteration of nutritional clinical or biochemical scores) is associated with higher morbidity/mortality, poor quality of life, reduced tolerance to oncologic therapy and poor efficacy of chemotherapy. Recently, sarcopenia, regardless of the presence of weight loss, has been identified as an independent risk factor for chemotherapy toxicity.