The effect of nutritional interventions involving dietary counselling on gastrointestinal toxicities in adults receiving pelvic radiotherapy – A systematic review

Gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities are common in patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) to the pelvis. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional interventions involving dietary counselling (DC) on GI toxicities in patients receiving pelvic RT. The search method entailed two phases to retrieve studies. Articles from a previous Cochrane review by Lawrie et al. 2018 were assessed for inclusion. An updated systematic search was then conducted to retrieve articles published between 2013 and 2020 from five electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, CENTRAL and Scopus). The inclusion criteria entailed randomised controlled trials involving adults ≥18 years, undergoing curative pelvic RT, receiving a nutritional intervention involving DC with or without supplements. DC was defined as written or face‐to‐face dietary advice provided before or during RT. Outcomes included GI toxicities reported by validated assessment tools. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Criteria Checklist was utilised to assess quality and risk of bias. Of 1922 studies retrieved, 12 articles encompassing 11 individual RCTs were included. Seven studies included a supplement in addition to DC. Supplements included probiotics, prebiotics, probiotic + soluble fibre, high protein liquid supplement and fat emulsion. Of the 11 studies, one involved individualised DC, and the remaining studies prescribed consumption or avoidance of fats, fibre, lactose, protein and FODMAP. The most common toxicities reported were diarrhoea (n = 11), pain/cramping (n = 9) and bloating/flatulence (n = 5). Three studies stated an improvement in diarrhoea incidence. Results varied between studies. Further quality studies are required to assess the effectiveness of DC, in particular individualised DC on GI toxicities in patients receiving pelvic RT.