This study aims to describe the feasibility of a nutritional intervention that promotes healthy eating habits early after cancer pediatric diagnosis in patients and their parents. Participants were recruited 4 to 12 weeks after cancer diagnosis as part of the VIE study. The one-year nutritional intervention included an initial evaluation and 6 follow-up visits every 2 months with a registered dietician. The feasibility assessment included rates of retention, participation, attendance, completion of study measures, and participants’ engagement. A preliminary evaluation of the intervention's impact on the participants’ dietary intakes was conducted. A total of 62 participants were included in the study (51.6% male, mean age = 8.5 years, mean time since diagnosis = 13.2 weeks). The retention and attendance rates were 72.6% and 71.3%, respectively. Attendance to follow-up visits declined over time, from 83.9% to 48.9%. A majority of participants had high participation (50.8%) and high engagement (56.4%). Measures of body-mass-index or weight-for-length ratio and dietary 24-h recalls were the procedures with the highest completion rates. Participants with refractory disease or relapse were less likely to complete the intervention. Post-intervention, participants (n = 21) had a lower sodium intake compared to the initial evaluation. These results suggest that a nutritional intervention that involves patients and parents early after a pediatric cancer diagnosis is feasible.

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Pediatric cancer survivors may experience cardiometabolic sequelae over the course of their lives as a result of the treatments they have received. While nutrition consists of an actionable target for cardiometabolic health, few nutritional interventions have been documented in this population. This study assessed the changes in diet during a one-year nutritional intervention for children and adolescents undergoing cancer treatments and the participants’ anthropometric and cardiometabolic profiles. A total of 36 children and adolescents (mean age: 7.9 years, 52.8% male) newly diagnosed with cancer (50% leukemia) and their parents underwent a one-year individualized nutrition intervention. The mean number of follow-up visits with the dietitian during the intervention was 4.72 ± 1.06. Between the initial and one-year assessments, there was an improvement in diet quality reflected by the Diet Quality Index (5.22 ± 9.95, p = 0.003). Similarly, the proportion of participants with moderate and good adherence (vs. low adherence) to the Healthy Diet Index score almost tripled after one year of intervention (14% vs. 39%, p = 0.012). In parallel, there was an increase in the mean z-scores for weight (0.29 ± 0.70, p = 0.019) and BMI (0.50 ± 0.88, p = 0.002), and in the mean levels of HDL-C (0.27 ± 0.37 mmol/L, p = 0.002) and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (14.5 ± 28.1 mmol/L, p = 0.03). Overall, this study supports that a one-year nutritional intervention deployed early after a pediatric cancer diagnosis is associated with an improvement in the diets of children and adolescents.