Courses

Nutrition During Childhood Cancer Treatment: Current Understanding & a Path for Future Research

Program Date: 20 October 2022

Publication Date: 14 September 2023

Continuing Education Credits: Nurse Contact 1.0 CE; Dietitian 1.0 CPEU

Course Description

In this course, Elena J. Ladas, PhD, RD, will describe how under- and overnutrition are important contributors to a pediatric oncology patient’s morbidity, quality of life, and mortality; discuss the consequences of cancer and review the short- and long-term nutritional implications; and explain how to recognize the evaluation of nutritional status as an essential component of oncology care. Originally presented as a live webinar on 20 October 2022.

Course Objectives
  • Describe how under- and overnutrition are important contributors to a pediatric oncology patient’s morbidity, quality of life, and mortality.
  • Discuss the consequences of cancer and review the short- and long-term nutritional implications.
  • Recognize the evaluation of nutritional status as an essential component of oncology care.

Performance Indicators: 4.2.1, 4.2.6, 8.2.1

Activity Code: 181178

Course Instructor Bio(s)

Elena J. Ladas, PhD, RD

Sid and Helaine Lerner Associate Professor for Global Integrative Medicine
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Co-Director, Center for Comprehensive Wellness
Director, International Initiative for Pediatrics and Nutrition
Associate Research Director, Pediatric Obesity Program
New York, NY, USA

Dr Elena J. Ladas is the Sid and Helaine Lerner Associate Professor for Global Integrative Medicine in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Dr Ladas received a Master’s degree in nutrition biochemistry from the Institute of Human Nutrition at CUIMC and holds a PhD in nutrition epidemiology from Columbia University. She is also a registered dietician. 

Dr Ladas is a clinical investigator with expertise in the clinical integration and scientific evaluation of nutrition and complementary/ alternative medicine in pediatric oncology. Dr Ladas is the Director of the Integrative Therapies Program and Co-Director of the Center for Comprehensive Wellness (CCW), where she is responsible for the clinical oversight and research portfolio of nutrition and integrative therapies. Dr Ladas is the principal investigator on many multi-institutional studies that evaluate the role of nutrition and integrative therapies, as components of supportive care, during and after treatment for childhood cancer. Specifically, she is evaluating the influence of dietary intake on the development of nutrition-related morbidities (such as obesity) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia through a collaboration with the Dana Farber ALL Consortium. Dr Ladas serves as the Chair of the nutrition committee of Children’s Oncology Group (COG) and is the principal investigator of an R01-funded study that is investigating the role of probiotic therapy on the development of gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease among children and adolescents undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. Dr. Ladas also leads a multi-institution study evaluating the clinical effects of perturbations on the microbiome among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Category

Abbott Nutrition’s Provider Statement for Nursing CEs:

Abbott Nutrition Health Institute is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing Provider #CEP 11213.

Abbott Nutrition’s Statement for Dietitian CPEUs:

This educational activity has been prior-approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). CDR credentialed practitioners will receive the specified continuing professional education units (CPEUs) for completion of this program/material.