Abstract 4294
Background
The attitudes of cancer patients towards nutrition and nutrition care has never been captured in Ireland. An awareness of the nutritional needs and attitudes of cancer patients along with a review of their experiences would help inform service planning.
Methods
In September 2018, a national survey was conducted to examine patient attitudes towards nutrition and access to dietetic services during their cancer journey. Patients diagnosed or treated in Ireland since 2015 were asked to complete a 25-item survey (available online and at 20 hospitals across Ireland).
Results
In total, 1085 valid responses were received (63% female, mean age 58 years). All major cancer groups were represented & 33% had metastatic disease. Overall, 45% reported suffering from a diet-related problem and 44% reported weight loss since diagnosis. Muscle loss was noted by 52%. Amongst weight losers, 42% were ‘unhappy/worried’ while 27% reported being ‘delighted/happy’. Although 80% are ‘always/usually’ weighed in clinic, just 43% reported that they are ‘always/usually’ asked about diet. Nutrition was rated ‘very/extremely’ important by 89% of respondents. Only 39% had received dietary advice from a dietitian and 74% rated this advice as ‘very/extremely’ helpful. Overall, 57% of those who did not see an RD said they would have liked more support with diet. While 58% reported trying general healthy eating as a result of their diagnosis, 38% and 32% admitted trying at least one alternative dietary strategy or avoiding a specific food due to their diagnosis, respectively.
Conclusions
While nutrition is highly important to Irish cancer patients, fewer than half surveyed had accessed a dietitian. Weight and muscle loss are common, but their significance is not always understood by patients. Almost half used alternative dietary strategies, highlighting the need to screen oncology patients for potentially restrictive diet or supplement use to guide appropriate referrals and education.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
IrSPEN.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
2728 - MicroRNA expression and DNA methylation profiles do not distinguish between primary and recurrent well-differentiated liposarcoma
Presenter: Melissa Vos
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
3197 - Genomic Alterations, Tumor Mutation Burden and Prognosis of Chinese Cardiac Sarcoma Patients
Presenter: Na Zhu
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
4214 - Evaluation of a peptide-conjugated alkylator melflufen in osteosarcoma preclinical models
Presenter: Konstantin Byrgazov
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
2654 - Expression analysis of NHEJ and HR genes in Ewing sarcomas: indications of DSB repair dysfunction
Presenter: Anastasios Kyriazoglou
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
4383 - Epidemiology of Synovial Sarcoma in EU28 countries
Presenter: Nedra Joseph
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
1937 - Resection Of High-Grade Large Soft Tissue Sarcoma With Adequate Wide Margin Can Lead To Good Local Control Without Adjuvant Radiotherapy
Presenter: Toshiyuki Kunisada
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
3757 - Influence of eribulin on proliferation, migration and invasion properties of leiomyosarcoma cell line models
Presenter: Marta Mendiola
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
1040 - EREMISS: Efficacy of regorafenib (REG) as maintenance therapy in non-adipocytic soft tissue sarcomas (STS) having received 1st-line doxorubicin-based chemotherapy (Doxo-CT)
Presenter: Nicolas Penel
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
1048 - A Phase 2 biomarker-driven study evaluating the clinical efficacy of an MDM2 inhibitor, milademetan, in patients with intimal sarcoma, a disease with a high unmet need
Presenter: Kan Yonemori
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
1511 - A pilot study of oral paclitaxel (ORAXOL) in subjects with cutaneous angiosarcomas (KX-ORAX-010)
Presenter: Herbert Loong
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract