Nutritional Assessment and Dietary Intervention Among Survivors of Childhood Cancer: Current Landscape and a Look to the Future

Talia Feit¹ Elizabeth Beals² Smita Dandekar³ Nina Kadan-Lottick⁴ Lenat Joffe^{1, 5*}

• ¹Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Cohen Children's Medical Center, United States
• ²Department of Pediatrics, Cohen Children's Medical Center, United States
• ³Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, United States
• ⁴Departments of Oncology and Cancer Prevention and Control, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, United States
• ⁵Department of Pediatrics, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, Hofstra University, United States

Over 85% of childhood cancer patients become long-term survivors. Still, cancer and its therapies are associated with a myriad of long-term complications such that childhood cancer survivors (CCS) endure excess disease burden, morbidity, and mortality throughout their lifetimes. Existing literature suggests that CCS maintain poor dietary intake and nutritional status. Thus, as childhood cancer cure rates continue to improve, the role of diet and nutrition in mitigating many of the most common adverse long-term health outcomes among CCS has gained significant interest. Herein we review present an in-depth review of existing scientific knowledge literature regarding evaluating dietary intake and nutrition status among CCS and its impact on treatment-related health complications; as well as contemporary intervention strategies aimed at overcoming distinctive barriers and improving deleterious lifestyle behaviors in this population. We summarize the Ppatient-centered, clinical, and systemic factors act as barriers to the conducting timely , comprehensive conduct of comprehensive dietary/nutritional assessments and providing provision of tailored, risk-based recommendations. We highlightThis Mini Review discusses the current state of the science, persisting research gaps, and opportunities for advancement of assessment and intervention strategies to address the unique needs of this heterogeneous, at-risk group of CCS.