ABSTRACT
Malnutrition is a common problem in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a highly prevalent cancer in southern China, which exerts adverse impacts on the quality of life, therapeutic effectiveness, and thus the prognosis of patients. It has been elucidated that malnutrition in patients with NPC is mainly attributed to systemic inflammation provoked by proinflammatory cyto-kines produced by the tumor, which elicits abnormal neuroendocrine and metabolic changes that ensue. The adverse effects of thera-peutic interventions for NPC and psychological factors also play ceritical roles. Early risk screening and diagnosis of malnutrition is the prerequisite for effective intervention, which should include comprehensive measures ranging from nutritional counseling and pain control, as well as anabolic stimulating exercises. In this paper, with reference to recently published studies and clinical guidelines, the nutritional status of patients with NPC and the progress of nutritional interventions are discussed.
