Lots of nutrient-rich foods, like fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, are important in the diets of children with cancer, a health professional and researcher says. Photo: 123rf
The headline on this story has been corrected on 29 January - the amount should be $1.35m, not $1.5m as originally stated.
Arguments over the role of nutrition for children with cancer are set to result in some national guidelines that a University of Auckland senior lecturer believes will be world leading.
About 150 children aged under 14 are diagnosed with cancer in Aotearoa every year. More than 85 percent of children survive their cancer, but it remains a leading cause of death for children in this country.
University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr Amy Lovell believes good nutrition can help with survival rates.
The Health Research Council has granted $1.35 million for her research on its impact.
In 2018, Lovell first worked in the children's cancer ward at Starship Hospital and realised how important dietitians were.
Now a senior lecturer in nutrition at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, Lovell, 37, said her part-time role as a paediatric oncology dietitian at the Starship Blood and Cancer Centre has driven her research direction.
University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr Amy Lovell believes good nutrition can help with survival rates. Photo: Supplied / University of Auckland
Currently there are no national guidelines for nutrition for children with cancer and that has added to the challenges of her work as a paediatric dietitian, she said.
"I was getting frustrated at how much I had to argue with health professionals about the importance of nutrition.
"There is so much allowance for nutrition to hit rock bottom, before we intervene - and I want to see that change."
Lovell, who is also chair of the National Child Cancer Network's Nutrition Working Group, will use a national database of about 2500 patients aged under 14 with cancer to see whether malnutrition influences cancer survival rates or increases the risk of complications.
The second aspect of her project will involve interviewing 20 to 30 families to understand their nutrition experiences and challenges during a child's cancer treatment and after they recovered.
Cancer treatment often leads to nausea
Cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, can make children nauseous and cause sores in their mouths, affecting their appetite and food choices.
"It becomes very challenging to feed and nourish a child who is undergoing cancer treatment.
"Upward of 90 percent of children will be impacted by malnutrition of some kind during treatment," Lovell says.
Some children become underweight and need nasogastric feeding to help them survive cancer treatment.
"Being underweight can increase the risks of treatment-related toxicities in the body - there's less strength to fight with."
That can lead to delays to chemotherapy schedules.
Up to 20 percent of children are overweight or obese at the time of diagnosis, similar to national averages - but that rate can double by the time treatment ends. Some children lose muscle and gain fat, as they reduce their movement while sick.
International studies show malnutrition - being overweight or underweight - is a risk factor hindering children's survival and increasing the risks of relapse.
It's vital children with cancer get lots of nutrient-rich foods, like fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, and fewer takeaways and sweets, she said.
"I want to empower families to make food choices that will give their child the best chance to beat cancer and have a healthy life."
In the third phase of the project, Lovell and her team will develop national nutrition guidelines for children with cancer, using her research findings and information from international studies. The guidelines will be co-designed with Māori health researchers from Waikato.
These guidelines will provide parents and health professionals with information about the types of foods children need while going through treatment and criteria to gauge when they require intense nutrition support, such as nasogastric feeding.
"There are no guidelines in the world, so we will be leading the way in developing these."
