EValuation of Nutrition support for OSteosarcoma (EVNOS)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does early gastrostomy insertion improve nutrition status in children and adolescents undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma? A retrospective, multi-centre study.
IRAS ID
358164
Contact name
Laura Sealy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
We hope to find out how to best support young people’s nutrition whilst having treatment for osteosarcoma. The intensive chemotherapy schedule affects taste, appetite, digestion and nutrient absorption, causing patients to lose weight and strength. We know this is linked to an increased infection risk and can affect their ability to tolerate the treatment, as well as their quality of life. Weight loss will also affect chemotherapy dosing and this may impact the effectiveness of treatment.
How nutrition affects, and is affected by, the treatment of childhood cancer (particularly of solid tumours) is an understudied area. As a result, nutrition is supported differently between treatment centres, depending on the teams’ experiences and professional opinions, rather than good scientific evidence. Some teams recommend placing a surgical feeding tube (gastrostomy) into the stomach early in treatment, whilst others adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach and, if nutrition deteriorates, the child will receive a liquid feed through a tube passed via the nose into the stomach (nasogastric tube).
There are benefits and disadvantages to both: a gastrostomy gives a reliable route for nutrition, but requires surgery and can be an infection risk, whilst nasogastric tubes are easily inserted at the bedside. However, nasogastric tubes are visible, can be vomited out and the insertion and sensation of the tube in the throat can be upsetting for some. There is little evidence to show which is more effective in supporting nutrition, or more acceptable to children undergoing this treatment.
This project will compare recent practices across several UK children’s oncology centres to see if there are measurable differences in growth and health with different types of nutritional support. The results will inform a larger, more detailed, real-time study application to answer these questions more confidently, and to explore patients’ lived experiences of these approaches.REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/SC/0038
Date of REC Opinion
13 Feb 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion