Impact of Food Refusal on Cancer Patients: Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world and can be provoked by both external and internal factors. Food refusal is often associated with malnutrition in cancer patients and is often associated with cachexia, which can lead to increased mortality. Objective: To present scientific evidence, based on an integrative review, to assess the impact of food refusal on cancer patients. Method: For the selection of studies, a combination of terms indexed in the Medical Subject Heading Terms (MeSH) was used. The databases MEDLINE (PubMed), LILACS, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, Microsoft Academic Search, Cochrane, RCAAP and BIREME were utilized for the selection of manuscripts, without restriction of language, period of publication and geographical location. The scale that was used to evaluate the studies was the protocol of qualitative score. Results: 10 articles with potential for inclusion were retrieved, and 3 articles responded the guiding question that consisted in verifying the impact of food refusal in individuals with cancer. The selected studies scored higher than six in the protocol for assessing their quality. Conclusion: Studies have reported frequent indicators of food refusal in cancer patients, associated with malnutrition, fear of eating and limited appetite.