Why are lung cancer patients prone to malnutrition?
There are multiple reasons why lung cancer patients become malnourished. The tumor itself consumes nutrients, leading to malnutrition and even “cachexia”; common treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy can also cause damage, such as chemotherapy leading to loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal reactions; radiotherapy can lead to radiation esophagitis, affecting diet and reducing nutrient intake, leading to malnutrition.
In addition, some patients mistakenly believe that they need to avoid all kinds of “taboos” in their diet, such as avoiding seafood, chicken, mushrooms, etc., thinking that these things have a “hair” effect and that eating them will lead to tumor recurrence and metastasis. Others simply refuse to eat a reasonable diet and want to “starve” the cancer cells to death. Sometimes patients buy a variety of expensive health products to “supplement” their bodies, reducing their normal diet, which can lead to malnutrition.
It is clear that both subjective and objective factors can lead to malnutrition. In recent years, the professional community has begun to pay attention to this issue, and the weight and nutritional status of the patient is one of the important factors in determining the outcome and prognosis, and actively correcting malnutrition is an important part of lung cancer treatment.
How to correct malnutrition?
After a lung cancer patient develops malnutrition, the doctor will first do a detailed assessment, at which time he or she should give a detailed account of their medical history, usual eating habits, and follow the doctor’s instructions to do a general physical examination and blood tests, etc. The doctor will accurately measure the nutritional status based on body mass index, subcutaneous fat thickness, serum albumin, hemoglobin, blood glucose, liver and kidney function, electrolytes, and other indicators.
To correct malnutrition, it is important to identify the “root cause” of the problem.
If malnutrition is the result of the above-mentioned “heart disease”, it is important to correct your misconceptions and ensure a comprehensive, balanced and moderate diet. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have a good understanding of what you are doing.
If you are experiencing reduced digestion or anorexia as a side effect of antitumor therapy, you can choose fresh, protein-rich ingredients and prepare easily digestible foods in small, frequent meals, according to your usual tastes. Sometimes, it can also be combined with some medications, such as megestrol and medroxyprogesterone, to promote appetite and increase weight. However, these medications need to be taken only under the guidance of a doctor. In addition, the company, comfort and care of loved ones can help.
If digestion and absorption have been severely impaired or degraded, your doctor may recommend oral all-purpose nutrients in conjunction with intravenous nutrient infusions. Usually peripheral intravenous nutrition is only suitable for infusion of glucose, amino acids, and fat emulsions with comparable plasma osmolality, with the disadvantage that the energy input is limited and prolonged infusion also predisposes to peripheral venous sclerosis and phlebitis.
If you are receiving chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery and are severely malnourished and unable to eat, your doctor may recommend total parenteral nutrition support, which means that nutrition is delivered exclusively through the vein.
Co-reviewed by: Dr. Haiyan Tu, Deputy Chief Physician, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute Dr. Yue-Li Sun Xiaoxiao Peng