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Gastrointestinal cancers have a high incidence with colorectal cancer being the main cause. Malnutrition has an extremely negative impact on quality of life and the toxicities of treatments. Supportive care, including nutritional support and adapted physical activity, plays a decisive role in the management of gastrointestinal cancers in association with conventional treatments. Nutritional status must be assessed as soon as the diagnosis is announced and during treatment, whether medical or surgical. In all cases, the nutritional care strategy must be defined with the patient at the start of their treatment. Whatever the nutritional care proposed, it is recommended to achieve at least energy intakes of 25 to 30 kcal/kg/day and 1 to 1.5 g of protein per kg/day. Gastrointestinal cancer surgeries are at high risk of morbidity, perioperative nutritional care is crucial and must be done according to the nutritional grade. Immunonutrition is also indicated perioperatively during these surgeries in order to reduce the risk of postoperative infectious complications. Multimodal care combining adapted physical activity should also be encouraged regardless of the type of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the relationships between dental problems and underweight status among rural women in Burkina Faso by using nationally representative data. Design: This was a cross-sectional secondary study of primary data obtained by the 2013 WHO Stepwise Approach to Surveillance survey conducted in Burkina Faso. Descriptive and analytical analyses were performed using Student's t test, ANOVA, the χ2 test, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression. Setting: All thirteen Burkinabè regions were categorised using quartiles of urbanisation rates. Participants: The participants were 1730 rural women aged 25–64 years. Results: The prevalence of underweight was 16·0 %, and 24·1 % of participants experienced dental problems during the 12-month period. The women with dental problems were more frequently underweight (19·9 % and 14·7 %; P < 0·05) and had a lower mean BMI (21·1 ± 3·2 and 21·6 ± 3·7 kg/m2, P < 0·01) than those without dental problems. More risk factors for underweight were observed in less urbanised regions among elderly individuals (> 49 years old) and smokeless tobacco users. Age > 49 years, professions with inconsistent income, a lack of education, smokeless tobacco use and low BMI were factors that were significantly associated with dental problems, while residency in a low-urbanisation area was a protective factor. Conclusion: The prevalence of underweight in rural Burkinabè women is among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, and women with dental problems are more frequently affected than those without dental problems. Public health measures for the prevention of these disorders should specifically target women aged over 49 years and smokeless tobacco users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CAUSES OF UNDERNUTRITION AND HOW TO LOOK FOR THEM IN GENERAL PRACTICE Nutritional imbalance leading to undernutrition is found in 3 situations: in the absence of disease (related to hunger or to socio- economic or psychological problems), related to a disease without inflammation, or to a disease with acute or chronic inflammation. These situations can lead to a reduction in food intake and in digestive absorption, and an increase in energy expenditure and in protein catabolism. In general practice, when faced with unexplained and/or isolated weight loss, whether voluntary or not, it is essential to look for an etiology. Intake can easily be evaluated using a visual or verbal analogical scale, the SEFI (Self-Evaluation of Food Intake). A biological check-up and digestive explorations can also orient the physician towards the cause of this weight loss or undernutrition. There is always a cause for weight loss and the general practitioner is a key player in finding this cause as early as possible., Competing Interests: P. Jésus déclare des interventions ponctuelles pour Nestlé Health Science, Astra Zeneca et Nutricia et avoir été pris en charge à l’occasion de déplacement pour congrès, par Nestlé Health Science et Nutricia. - P. Fayemendy déclare des interventions ponctuelles pour Fresenius Kabi, B. Braun et Nutricia et avoir été pris en charge, à l’occasion de déplacement pour congrès, par Nestlé Health Science, Nutricia et Théradial.