Comment on “Nutritional status of patients submitted to transplantation of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells: a retrospective study”☆

Adult patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) vary widely in terms of their requirement for nutrition intervention and assessment of nutrient needs. Multiple factors throughout the HCT process impact nutritional status and the need for nutrition intervention such as type of conditioning regimen, degree of regimen-related toxicity, infection and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). As demonstrated in the study by Ferreira et al. entitled “Nutritional status of patients submitted to transplantation of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells: a retrospective study”, nutrition status is adversely affected early post-HCT by highdose conditioning regimens requiring hospitalization and parenteral nutrition (PN) support.1 However, regardless of the patient’s early post-HCT toxicities, their nutrition status can also be drastically affected by later complications such as acute/chronic GVHD and/or cytomegalovirus (CMV) enteritis. Long-term complications resulting from immunosuppressive medications such as steroid-induced diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, hyperlipidemia and metabolic syndrome can also affect nutrition status for months to years after HCT.