[Evaluation of the effectiveness of a nutritional support programme in patients with diarrhoea secondary to abdominal and/or pelvic radiotherapy, whether or not associated with other cancer treatments, in radiation oncology departments].

Introduction: the administration of enteral nutrition formulas with peptides, medium-chain triglycerides and no fibre could mitigate gastrointestinal intolerance in cancer patients with digestive tract involvement. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness, in terms of maintenance or improvement of nutritional status and symptom control, of a nutritional management algorithm, designed by a specialist in endocrinology and nutrition and based on oligomeric oral supplementation, within radiation oncology departments. Patients and methods: we conducted a prospective study in three radiation oncology services with patients diagnosed with tumours treated with radical intention irradiation of the abdominal and/or pelvic area. Bowel function, body composition study, dynamometry and nutritional assessment according to the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria were evaluated. Results: 120 patients were included, 39 of whom required oral nutritional supplementation. Of these, 43.5 % were severely malnourished at baseline. Seventeen of them received polymeric and 22 oligomeric supplements. Patients who were well nourished at baseline and received oligomeric supplementation maintained this good nutritional status at the end of the study significantly more often than those who received polymeric supplementation. They also showed a decrease in the duration of diarrhoea, 24 vs 35 days (p = 0.047) and better scores on the adherence questionnaires. Conclusion: in patients without malnutrition, early oligomeric supplementation manages to maintain this state in a greater number of cases than polymeric formulas, as well as reducing the duration of diarrhoea.