Cancer cachexia
Simple nutritional screening in clinical practice

Nelda Swinton, PDt, OPDQ, DC, Martin R. Chasen, MBChB, FCP(SA), MPhil(Pall Med) and Neil MacDonald,CM, MD, FRCPC, FRCP(Edin)

Any disease that causes a person to experience wasting (loss of fat and muscle) places him/her at a higher risk for complications and adverse effects from treatment. The maintenance of good nutritional status during treatments for cancer or other chronic illness increases the likelihood of successful completion of prescribed therapies and improves a patient’s quality of life.

 

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An essential component of cancer care
Cancer cachexia can be detected early in the course of a patient’s illness. Timely discovery may allow interventions to prevent or delay the devastating consequences of cancer cachexia. Simple measures are available to alert physicians to patients’ nutritional problems and help in the detection of symptoms that impact on appetite, weight, functional status and quality of life. In this article we describe screening procedures that can be readily carried out in a physician’s clinic or office and enable intervention or referral as appropriate. These screening measures are also applicable to patients with other chronic conditions.
 
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