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Since 2011 an Eritrean-Italian archaeological mission has initiated research and excavation activities in the area of ancient Adulis, an emporium town located along the coast of the Horn of Africa on the Red Sea, in current Eritrea, documented by the sources as early as the 1st century AD and disappeared between the 7th and 8th centuries. The site, due to the historical and geographical context that determined its ancient splendour, invites us to broaden the research field, extending it from the excavation area to the commercial networks that, in ancient times, set in communication the African, Asian and Mediterranean cultures, without neglecting the intermediate scale, necessary to understand the ways in which the settlement was related to the territorial context and its resources. Among the natural resources water, in particular thanks to the presence of the Haddas, a seasonal watercourse that reaches significant flows, was certainly crucial to the development of the town and to the probable agrarian exploitation of its surroundings. Haddas itself was probably the cause of Adulis’ sudden destruction between the 7th and 8th centuries. Today, this watercourse is at same time one of the main resources and one of the major vulnerability factors of this portion of the coast, where the villages of Zula, Afta and Foro live a fragile equilibrium, seasonally endangered by its floods. The same protection of the important cultural heritage constituted by the site of Adulis today, in a way not entirely dissimilar from what happened in ancient times, depends on this balance.

Children with cancer are at high risk for developing short-term and long-term nutritional problems related to their underlying disease and side effects of multimodal treatments. Nutritional status (NS) can influence several clinical outcomes, such as overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS), treatment tolerance, risk of developing infections and quality of life (QoL). However, the importance of nutrition in children with cancer is still underestimated. This review focuses on alterations of NS that occurs in children during cancer treatment. In particular, we reviewed the pathogenesis of undernutrition in oncological children, as well as how NS affects treatment tolerance and response, the immune system and the risk of infections of children with cancer. Thanks to recent advances in all types of supportive therapy and to the progress of knowledge on this topic, it has been realized that NS is a modifiable prognostic factor that can be intervened upon to improve the outcome of these patients. Currently, there is a lack of a systematic approach and standard recommendations for nutritional care in the pediatric cancer population. Literature analysis showed that it is essential to define the NS and treat any alterations in a timely manner ensuring proper growth and development. Nutritional follow-up should become an integral part of the care pathway. Regular nutritional monitoring should be performed at diagnosis, during treatment and during follow-up. A close collaboration and sharing of expertise between pediatric oncologists and nutrition specialists, combined with careful and participatory sharing of the feeding experience with the family and the child (after age 6 years), is strongly required.