Defining the role of dietary intake in determining weight change in patients with cancer cachexia

Many patients with advanced cancer and weight loss are consuming diets that would likely be insufficient to maintain weight even in healthy individuals. Higher consumption of protein and energy correlates with greater weight gain, but it is impossible to predict the response to increased nutritional intake when patients are first assessed. There is a pressing need to improve understanding of factors that modulate metabolic responses to dietary intake in patients with cancer cachexia.