Good nutrition is important at every stage of life. It becomes even more crucial when you are battling a debilitating disease such as mesothelioma. A research group has confirmed this belief in a recent study titled “The Controlling Nutritional Status Score Is a Significant Independent Predictor of Poor Prognosis in Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma."
The study consisted of nearly 100 MPM patients who were treated with surgery, chemotherapy, or multidisciplinary therapy. More than half the patients had low CONUT scores, indicating good nutrition. The rest had high CONUT scores, indicating poor nutrition. The researchers analyzed the impact these scores had on treatment outcomes and concluded that patients with high CONUT scores had significantly poorer overall survival and disease- or progression-free survival.
The CONUT score has been used to predict prognosis in other types of malignancy and to help determine which patients will benefit from the most common cancer treatments. Before this study, the significance of the CONUT scores in patients with MPM was unknown.
Lowering Your CONUT Score
Nutrition can be improved significantly during and after cancer treatment with simple modifications. Eating and drinking enough of the foods and liquids that have the important nutrients the body needs is the most important modification you can make. Consuming the right vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fat, and water can lower your CONUT score. Not only will this help improve your chances of recovery, it can greatly improve quality of life during all stages of treatment and beyond.
Sources
Chew, Tinrin. "Chapter 7: Maintaining Good Nutrition." The Chemotherapy Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Get through Treatment. By Judith McKay and Tamera Schacher. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2009. 103-22. Print.
"New Study Explores the Link Between Nutritional Status and Mesothelioma Treatment Outcomes." abc6 News. WLNE-TV, 14 Mar. 2017. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
"Nutrition in Cancer Care." National Cancer Institute (NCI). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH), n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
Takamori, Shinkichi, Gouji Toyokawa, Kenichi Taguchi, Makoto Edagawa, Shinichiro Shimamatsu, and Kaname Nosaki. "The Controlling Nutritional Status Score Is a Significant Independent Predictor of Poor Prognosis in Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma." Clinical Lung Cancer (2017): n. pag. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
