[Association of nutrition and nutritional status with neoplastic diseases in dogs]

This narrative review critically summarizes and classifies the available literature on the relationship between nutrition, nutritional status, and neoplastic diseases in dogs. The evaluation shows that there is evidence of associations between nutritional status and certain tumor entities as well as their prognosis. However, the underlying studies often display relevant methodological limitations, and at times the evidence is weak. For individual nutrients and nutritional components only few, sometimes contradictory data are available and the reported effects are mostly minor or of merely limited clinical relevance.

Overall, the current body of evidence does not allow a definitive conclusion regarding the causal significance of individual nutritional factors in canine tumor development. This article aims to enable a realistic appraisal of the existing evidence and to provide veterinarians with guidance in dealing with nutrition-related questions in the oncologic context.