Malnutrition in lung cancer: incidence, prognostic implications, and pathogenesis

Malnutrition and weight loss are common in patients with lung cancer. Weight loss is an independent prognostic factor for survival in lung cancer treatment studies. Metabolic disturbances probably play a dominant role in weight loss in these patients rather than reduced food intake. The identification of the pertinent etiologic metabolic abnormalities and development of specific therapeutic intervention should be goals for future research.