TY - JOUR
T1 - Managing eating problems after cancer
AU - Kristensen, Marianne Boll
N1 - Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Cancer treatment can cause food-limiting eating problems that persist or arise months or years after treatment, with negative consequences for the survivor's nutritional status, physical and social function, and quality of life. Hence, post-treatment follow-up and cancer rehabilitation services should aim to support the survivor in managing treatment-related eating problems. This narrative review summarizes the evidence on and provides an overview of interventions to manage eating problems after cancer. Interventions are grouped into four: 1) food-based interventions, including alternating food/fluids and experimenting through the trial-and-error strategy to find tolerated foods; 2) eating behavioral interventions, including instructions on swallowing techniques, posture, and utensils; 3) psychosocial support interventions, including group-based interventions and interventions including relatives; and 4) physical interventions, including exercises to improve dysphagia or trismus. While physical interventions are supported by evidence from several intervention studies, few studies evaluating the effect of other types of interventions in survivors were identified. Instead, qualitative and observational data providing insights on experiences of and coping strategies applied by survivors with eating problems underpin the need for the other types of interventions. Since existing research primarily focuses on survivors of head and neck cancer, future studies on the organization and effects of interventions aimed at managing eating problems among different groups of survivors are relevant.
AB - Cancer treatment can cause food-limiting eating problems that persist or arise months or years after treatment, with negative consequences for the survivor's nutritional status, physical and social function, and quality of life. Hence, post-treatment follow-up and cancer rehabilitation services should aim to support the survivor in managing treatment-related eating problems. This narrative review summarizes the evidence on and provides an overview of interventions to manage eating problems after cancer. Interventions are grouped into four: 1) food-based interventions, including alternating food/fluids and experimenting through the trial-and-error strategy to find tolerated foods; 2) eating behavioral interventions, including instructions on swallowing techniques, posture, and utensils; 3) psychosocial support interventions, including group-based interventions and interventions including relatives; and 4) physical interventions, including exercises to improve dysphagia or trismus. While physical interventions are supported by evidence from several intervention studies, few studies evaluating the effect of other types of interventions in survivors were identified. Instead, qualitative and observational data providing insights on experiences of and coping strategies applied by survivors with eating problems underpin the need for the other types of interventions. Since existing research primarily focuses on survivors of head and neck cancer, future studies on the organization and effects of interventions aimed at managing eating problems among different groups of survivors are relevant.
KW - Adaptation, Psychological
KW - Head and Neck Neoplasms
KW - Humans
KW - Nutritional Status
KW - Quality of Life/psychology
KW - Survivors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85169028438&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.maturitas.2023.107843
DO - 10.1016/j.maturitas.2023.107843
M3 - Review
C2 - 37659131
SN - 0378-5122
VL - 178
JO - Maturitas
JF - Maturitas
M1 - 107843
ER -