Importance of enteral nutrition and other forms of nutrition in cancer patients

Abstract

This article aims to analyze enteral nutrition and other forms of nutrition aiming at the positive evolution of cancer patients. This is an integrative literature review, with a qualitative research approach to answer the central question of the work: What are the benefits of enteral nutrition in cancer patients? The choice of analyzed articles was based on inclusion criteria: I - Publication Period 2017-2022; II - Language of the publication in Portuguese and English; III - Applied, integrative, literary, systematic, and case study research methodology. To carry out this study, it was necessary to use the following databases: National Library of Medicine - PUBMED and Scientific Electronic Library Online - SCIELO. After applying the methodology, 15 articles were selected for analysis. The articles deal with cancer, classifying it as a disease responsible for the disorder of cells causing invasion of tissues and organs, with the possibility of spreading to other regions of the body. The consequences of this disease cause in the patient, loss of appetite and, consequently, weight loss are symptoms that radiation therapy and the use of chemotherapeutic agents have in common, since they cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, leading to an imbalance of fluids. and electrolytic, which can lead to fluid retention. In this scenario, it is understood that the performance of the nutritionist is beneficial to balance the patient's nutritional level through enteral nutrition, promoting an improvement in the patient's quality of life.