Brief report Awareness and consideration of malnutrition among oncologists: Insights from an exploratory survey Riccardo Caccialanza M.D. a , Emanuele Cereda M.D., Ph.D. a , Carmine Pinto M.D. b , Paolo Cotogni M.D., M.Sc. c , Gabriella Farina M.D. d , Cecilia Gavazzi M.D. e , Chiara Gandini M.D. f , Mariateresa Nardi M.D. g , Vittorina Zagonel M.D. h , Paolo Pedrazzoli M.D. f, * a Nutrition and Dietetics Service, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy b Medical Oncology IRCCS-Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy c Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Pain Management and Palliative Care, University of Turin, Torino, Italy d Department of Oncology, Ospedale Fatebenefratelli and Oftalmico, Milan, Italy e Clinical Nutrition Unit, National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy f Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Hemato-Oncology Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy g Clinical Nutrition Service, Veneto Institute of Oncology-IRCCS, Padova, Italy h Medical Oncology 1, Veneto Institute of Oncology-IRCCS, Padova, Italy article info Article history: Received 28 January 2016 Accepted 6 February 2016 Keywords: Cancer Malnutrition Nutritional support abstract Objectives: The attitude toward malnutrition varies considerably among oncologists and many malnourished cancer patients receive inadequate nutritional support. The aim of this brief report was to report the results of the exploratory national survey conducted by the Italian Society of Medical Oncology (AIOM) and the Italian Society of Artificial Nutrition and Metabolism (SINPE) before publication of a consensus document aimed at evaluating current attitudes toward malnutrition and management of nutrition, among Italian medical oncologists. Methods: Between January and July 2015, the AIOM and the SINPE conducted a national web-based exploratory survey to investigate the attitude of oncologists toward malnutrition, and the man- agement of nutritional support, before publication of an intersociety consensus document. Results: Of the 2375 AIOM members, 135 (5.7%) participated in the survey, with a satisfactory distribution across all Italian regions. Nutritional assessment and support were routinely inte- grated into patient care for 38 (28%) responders. According to 66 (49%) participants, nutritional assessment was carried out only at the patients’ request (n ¼ 62), or not at all (n ¼ 4). Availability of clinical nutritionists was reported by 88 (65%) participants. For 131 responders (97%), nutritional status was decisive (n ¼ 63) or often crucial (n ¼ 68) in assessing whether anticancer treatment was practicable or would be tolerated. Conclusions: The low response rate may reflect the lack of awareness and consideration of nutri- tional issues among Italian oncologists. Although malnutrition and nutritional support seemed to be perceived by the responders as relevant factors for the efficacy of oncologic treatments, it seems that nutritional care practices may well be inappropriate. The lack of collaboration between on- cologists and clinical nutritionists may be the first obstacle to overcome. Educational intersociety initiatives aimed at improving nutritional support management for cancer patients in Italy appear urgently needed. Ó 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction Malnutrition is an overlooked yet frequent problem in cancer patients that is associated with a higher degree of treatment- related toxicity, a reduced response to treatment, an impaired quality of life, and a worse overall prognosis [1,2]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 39 0382 502094; fax: þ 39 0382 501654. E-mail address: p.pedrazzoli@smatteo.pv.it (P. Pedrazzoli). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2016.02.005 0899-9007/Ó 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Nutrition journal homepage: www.nutritionjrnl.com Please cite this article in press as: Caccialanza R, et al., Awareness and consideration of malnutrition among oncologists: Insights from an exploratory survey, Nutrition (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2016.02.005 Nutrition xxx (2016) 1–5