One of the most exciting advancements in cancer research over the past few years involves using a person’s own immune system against the cancer. Immunotherapy comes in many forms and is being used to treat a variety of cancers, both adult and pediatric.
More recently, researchers have begun exploring whether and how nutrition can be used to manipulate the immune system to affect various oncology outcomes. Leveraging the activity of the immune system in this way is called immunonutrition.
In an oncology setting, immunonutrition, “may aid in improving immune status, modulate the acquired immune response, decrease the treatment toxicity and improve patient outcomes,” according to a 2017 paper in the journal Clinical Nutrition, titled “The role of immunonutritional support in cancer treatment: Current evidence.”
Immunonutrition is being studied in multiple areas of cancer treatment, although the bulk of the research involves oncology surgery. Its effectiveness has also been researched in a variety of different cancers.
You can download information on few representative examples below: