Cancer Cachexia AND Nutritional Support — Written Clinical Reasoning · Phys Written Answers

Prompt

DCE-style written reasoning for Cancer Cachexia AND Nutritional Support.

SAQ 1 — Integrated plan (12 marks)

Prompt: Provide a prioritised problem list and management sequence for this presentation. [1] [2]

1. Frame and red flags (3 marks) [1]

State the working diagnosis/syndrome, acuity, and what would force emergency treatment now. [1] [2]

2. Discriminating assessment (3 marks) [2]

List the key history, examination and investigations that separate dangerous differentials from benign mimics. [1] [2]

3. Treatment sequence (4 marks) [1] [3]

Immediate stabilisation, disease-specific therapy, monitoring, and complications prevention. [1] [2] [3]

4. Follow-up and communication (2 marks) [2]

Disposition, safety-net advice, and who owns follow-up. [1] [2]

Prompt: Name two high-yield traps in Cancer Cachexia AND Nutritional Support and how you avoid them. [1] [2]

Trap one: delayed escalation of a high-risk feature — avoid by explicit red-flag checklist. [1]

Trap two: therapy mismatched to mechanism — avoid by confirming the discriminating test before escalating treatment. [2] [3]

[1]Liu TK, Noble D, Stares M, Phillips I Identifying markers of cachexia and nutritional deficit on radical radiotherapy outcomes in lung and head and neck cancer Curr Opin Support Palliat Care, 2026.PMID 42421369
[2]Petersen E, Sheldon J, Torgerson H, Kirschenbaum M, et al. The impact of cachexia and sarcopenia in bladder cancer Curr Opin Support Palliat Care, 2026.PMID 42417054
[3]Monnery D, Collins J, Droney J Practical prescribing in cancer cachexia Curr Opin Support Palliat Care, 2026.PMID 42411339
[4]Shen S, Zhou K, Wu M, Liu D, et al. Feeding intelligence: comparative evaluation of ChatGPT and clinical guidelines for nutritional management in head and neck cancer J Transl Med, 2025.PMID 41272713
[5]Muscaritoli M, Molfino A, Orlando S, Tambaro F Advancements of investigational agents for cancer cachexia: what clinical progress have we seen in the last 5 years? Expert Opin Investig Drugs, 2025.PMID 41222020
[6]Hustad KS, Kaasa S, Laird BJA Integrated nutritional care in cancer; about time? Curr Opin Support Palliat Care, 2025.PMID 40689650
[7]Xi Y, Yao T, Zhang C, Zhuang T Effectiveness of safety care and clinical nursing pathway in patients undergoing cardiovascular intervention: a randomized controlled trial Perioper Med (Lond), 2026.PMID 42469924
[8]Marks FJ, Walters SJ, Sutton L, Jacques RM What statistical methods are more appropriate for predicting recruitment at the design stage of a randomised controlled trial? Trials, 2026.PMID 42469922