Nutrition in Oncology: Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Complications and Support Treatment Outcomes

Up to 70% of cancer patients develop malnutrition during treatment, not as a late complication, but from diagnosis. Driven by metabolic stress, altered taste, and treatment side effects, nutritional decline is a prognostic variable, not a secondary concern.

Our exclusive resources bring together guideline-aligned nutritional strategies, pathway implementation guidance, and the latest evidence on high-protein oral supplementation, curated for oncology clinical practice.

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Cancer-related catabolism alters protein metabolism from the point of diagnosis. Malnutrition independently reduces treatment tolerance, increases complication rates, and shortens survival, yet nutritional screening remains inconsistently implemented across oncology settings.

The clinical consequences of delayed nutritional intervention include reduced chemotherapy and radiotherapy tolerance, increased post-operative infectious and non-infectious complications, prolonged hospital length of stay, and loss of lean body mass that limits further treatment options.

Early, systematic nutritional screening is the standard endorsed by international clinical guidelines. This booklet translates those guidelines into practical, patient-level nutritional targets across cancer types.

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Nutritional screening and prehabilitation pathways, when embedded at protocol level, shift oncology nutrition from reactive to preventive. Audit data from leading cancer centres show that structured nutritional care pathways improve treatment tolerance and reduce avoidable clinical deterioration.

This webinar examines how data-driven strategies can identify gaps in current nutritional practice, and how dietitians, oncologists, and nurses can apply those findings to influence pathway design and organisational policy.

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Recent systematic review and meta-analysis evidence shows high-protein oral nutritional supplements (HPONS, providing at least 20% of energy from protein) in adult cancer patients are associated with fewer infectious complications, fewer non-infectious post-operative complications, and shorter hospital length of stay.

No significant effect was observed for readmissions or mortality, an important boundary for setting realistic clinical expectations. The complication data are granular enough to inform departmental protocol and formulary decisions.

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Patient-centered implementation of nutritional care into the cancer journey

In this insightful webinar, Prof. Carla Prado explores how patient‑centered nutrition can reduce toxicity, protect function and improve quality of life across the cancer journey.

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20m