Abstract
Advanced esophageal cancer is treated by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, chemoradiotherapy, and immunotherapy. However, the stenosis caused by the tumor and cancer-related chronic inflammation leads to inadequate food intake, weight loss, and nutrition problems. Given that poor pre-treatment nutritional status increases the risks of treatment-related adverse events and a poor prognosis, the nutrition guidelines recommend a pre-treatment nutritional assessment. When malnutrition is present, nutritional interventions, such as dietary guidance and enteral nutrition supplements, provided by the medical team may reduce treatment-related adverse events. However, whether nutritional intervention improves the prognosis is a topic for future research, including randomized controlled trials. This review discusses the literature on nutritional management in patients undergoing chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy for advanced esophageal cancer.