The integrating nutritional therapy in oncology (INTO) project: rationale, structure and preliminary results

Abstract
Malnutrition is a frequent problem in patients with cancer, which leads to prolonged hospitalisation, a higher degree of treatment-related toxicity, reduced response to cancer treatment, impaired quality of life and a worse prognosis. The attitude towards this issue varies considerably among oncologists, and many malnourished patients still receive inadequate nutritional support. This could be related to the insufficient awareness of nutritional problems among healthcare professionals and the lack of structured collaboration between oncologists and clinical nutritionists. Recently, the Italian Society of Medical Oncology (AIOM), the Italian Society of Artificial Nutrition and Metabolism (SINPE) and the Italian Federation of Volunteer-based Cancer Organisations (FAVO) have initiated a structured collaborative project named ‘integrating nutritional therapy in oncology (INTO)’, with the aim to increase the awareness of nutritional issues among oncologists and, consequently, improve the nutritional care of patients with cancer. A working group, composed of a panel of experts and representatives from AIOM, SINPE and …