Importance of nutrition in pediatric oncology

A nutritional perspective within pediatric oncology is usually just related to the supportive care aspect during the management of the underlying malignancy. However, nutrition has a far more fundamental importance with respect to a growing, developing child who has cancer as well as viewing cancer from a nutritional cancer control perspective. Nutrition is relevant to all components of cancer control including prevention, epidemiology, biology, treatment, supportive care, rehabilitation, and survivorship. This article briefly describes this perspective of nutrition within a cancer control context and is a summary of the presentation at the "1st International SIOP-PODC Workshop on Nutrition in Children with Cancer" held in Mumbai.