Sergey Badalyan, Medical Oncology Resident at Yeolyan Hematology and Oncology Center, Assistant Managing Editor at OncoDaily Medical Journal, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Already concluded the Gastric Cancer Preceptorship in Lisbon (26-27 June), and one of the strongest takeaways for me was how central nutrition is in this disease, and how little of it is actually straightforward.
In gastric cancer, malnutrition affects up to ~40% of patients and is clearly linked with worse survival outcomes. What stood out in the session was how “simple” advice like eating more or eating better doesn’t really reflect the reality these patients are facing.
We went through a few key points:
- Protein intake matters (around 1–2 g/kg/day), but is often very hard to achieve in practice
- Salt intake, especially in the setting of *H. pylori*, may actually modify gastric cancer risk by changing the gastric environment and microbiome
- Cachexia is not just “not eating enough”, it’s an inflammatory process that can’t be reversed by nutrition alone
- Exercise and nutrition should go together, but neither is a standalone solution in advanced disease
- And despite all the interest in diets, supplements, or microbiome approaches, the clinical evidence is still limited in most areas
What I appreciated most is that there was no oversimplification. The message was actually: we still don’t fully control this with “diet advice,” and supportive care in gastric cancer needs to be multidisciplinary and realistic.
Obrigado, Lisboa.”
Other articles featuring Sergey Badalyan on OncoDaily.
