Understanding nutritional issues in the older person with cancer

The prevalence of malnutrition in both older people and those with cancer is high. Risk of malnutrition is compounded in the oncogeriatric population arising from the overlap of both age-related and cancer-induced aetiologies, leaving the older person particularly susceptible to the detrimental sequelae of disease and treatment-related morbidity. National evidence-based guidelines recommend implementation of routine malnutrition screening to identify at risk patients and facilitate early access to dietitians with expertise in nutritional management of this patient group for comprehensive nutritional assessment, intervention and monitoring. The multidisciplinary team can play a proactive role in addressing the nutritional needs of this group as part of comprehensive cancer care and improve patient-centred, clinical and cost outcomes.