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
3181 - Effects of Three Products in the Prevention and Treatment of Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy-Induced Oral Mucositis
Presenter: Francesca Zannier
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
2433 - Boiling Histotripsy-induced Mechanical Ablation Modulates Tumour Microenvironment by Promoting Immunogenic Cell Death of Cancers
Presenter: Cheol-Hee Shin
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
2663 - The bacterial receptor NOD2 mediates LGR5+ intestinal stem cells protection against irradiation via mitophagy activation
Presenter: Antonin Levy
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
3213 - Pulse mode irradiation regimen of PDT results in high progression free and overall survival in mice with model tumor
Presenter: Alexey Bogdanov
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
3722 - Proton-sensitizing effect of small molecule inhibitor of P300 histone acetyltransferase C646 in human pancreatic cancer cells.
Presenter: Sungwon Shin
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
5805 - Red-Blood-Cell-Membrane-Enveloped Magnetic Nanoclusters as a Biomimetic Theranostic Nanoplatform for Bimodal Imaging Guided Cancer Photothermal Therapy
Presenter: sheng wang
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
5251 - Urine cell-free and extracellular vesicle cargo miRNAs as biomarkers for prostate cancer diagnosis
Presenter: Ivan Zaporozhchenko
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
3657 - Parkin, APEX1 and BCL2L1 Tissue Expression in Southern Brazilian Patients with Different Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes
Presenter: Bianca Cabral
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
2839 - Obesity and prognosis in breast cancer
Presenter: Noha Ibrahim
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
5132 - SIPA1 is a modulator of HGF induced tumor metastasis via the regulation of tight junctions in lung adenocarcinoma cells
Presenter: Chang Liu
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract