Pearls of optimizing nutrition and physical performance of older adults undergoing cancer therapy.

As the global population continues to age, the prevalence of cancer is increasing, with more than half of new cancer diagnoses occurring in those aged 65years and older. As a result of improved oncological care, a greater number of older patients undergo treatment, either chemoradiotherapy or surgery or both. The older oncology patient is not part of a homogenous group; chronological age poorly describes the health status of an individual.

Use of routinely available clinical, nutritional, and functional criteria to classify cachexia in advanced cancer patients.

Background: Cachexia is a highly prevalent syndrome in cancer and chronic diseases. However, due to the heterogeneous features of cancer cachexia, its identification and classification challenge clinical practitioners.

Objective: To determine the clinical relevance of a cancer cachexia classification system in advanced cancer patients.

Identifying nutritional, functional, and quality of life correlates with male hypogonadism in advanced cancer patients.

With the availability of a potential treatment to reverse male hypogonadism (MH), the primary aim of this case series study was to determine independent relationships between this condition and the nutritional, functional, and quality of life characteristics of advanced cancer patients (ACP). Free testosterone levels were measured in 100 male patients with advanced lung and gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. Routine blood markers of nutrition and inflammation, self-reporting questionnaires for symptom, nutrition, and functional status along with handgrip dynamometry were assessed for all patients at bedside.

Health professionals' attitudes toward the detection and management of cancer-related anorexia-cachexia syndrome, and a proposal for standardized assessment.

Background: The identification and management of patients with cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome (CACS) can be a challenge despite recent international consensus on the definition of the condition.

Objectives: To describe the current views and practice patterns of community oncologists and oncology nurses in regard to CACS and to propose a standardized, pragmatic assessment of CACS for oncological practice.

Methods And Materials: Responses from 151 community oncologists and nurses obtained across 5 surveys were analyzed.

The abridged patient-generated subjective global assessment is a useful tool for early detection and characterization of cancer cachexia.

Cancer cachexia (CC) is a syndrome characterized by wasting of lean body mass and fat, often driven by decreased food intake, hypermetabolism, and inflammation resulting in decreased lifespan and quality of life. Classification of cancer cachexia has improved, but few clinically relevant diagnostic tools exist for its early identification and characterization. The abridged Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (aPG-SGA) is a modification of the original Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, and consists of a four-part questionnaire that scores patients' weight history, food intake, appetite, and performance status.