Baldwin, C., Spiro, A., Ahern, R., & Emery, P.W. (2012). Oral nutritional interventions in malnourished patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 104, 371–385.
STUDY PURPOSE: To examine the effect of oral nutritional interventions on outcomes among patients with cancer
Analysis indicates that oral nutritional interventions were associated with significant improvement in dyspnea and appetite symptom scales. It is unclear what the specific impacts of dietary counseling versus oral nutritional supplements were on these outcomes.
Nutritional interventions such as dietary counseling and oral nutritional supplementation may be helpful in managing symptoms of dyspnea and anorexia in patients cancer. Evidence does not provide strong support due to variability in timing of interventions, the exact nature of the interventions, actual nutritional status of patients included, and the timing of outcome data measurement. Nutritional interventions such as dietary counseling and oral nutritional supplement are low-risk interventions that may be helpful for some patients. Well-designed research and reporting in this area would be helpful to guide practice.