Dear Editor, in recent years there has been an increase in the number of new cases of cancer. This increase, in part, is closely related to the increase in average life expectancy, as well as more accurate diagnostic techniques and well-defined screening programs. [...]

Addressing cancer pain requires real analysis and reflection. Successful management of pain through medical therapy requires a balance between effective analgesia and good tolerability, which is often difficult to achieve with conventional opioids. Treatment with tapentadol for oncologic pain results in successful pain relief, good tolerability and improvement in overall quality of life. This indicates that it is also a therapeutic option in pain of oncological origin. The combination of two mechanisms of action, which interact synergistically to produce analgesia, is a promising approach to generate effective analgesics. Tapentadol combines the agonistic activity of the μ opioid receptor (MOR) with the inhibition of noradrenaline reuptake (NRI) and thus provides highly effective analgesia comparable to strong opioids, but with favorable tolerability.

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of new cases of cancer. Malnutrition in cancer patients is a consequence of the increase in inflammatory cytokines associated with cancer, metabolic alterations, and concomitant inadequate availability of nutrients, due to anorexia caused by the disease and systemic treatments. Nutrition can guide both the growth and progress of inflammatory disorders and their prevention and treatment. Irrevocably, it is indispensable to pair the diet with physical activity, balance nutritional status and prime a healthy lifestyle. An increased understanding of the instruments linked to nutrients and the immune system is a breathtaking and exceptional field for the future. The gut microbiota is now known as a fundamental factor disturbing the host´s anti-cancer immunosurveillance and capacity to respond to immunotherapy. Diet is one of the most powerful modulators of microbiota, and therefore nutritional intervention could be used to increase host anti-cancer immunity. A rising body of data has also highlighted that the gut microbiota may have a constructive impact on cancer prevention or treatment, particularly via improved host immunosurveillance of cancer as well as patients ‘capacity to respond to chemotherapy or immunotherapy. The sway of nutrition on the immune system is a territory that remains under investigation. Nutrition and immunity are closely related. An expanded understanding of the mechanisms connected to nutrients and the immune system is a breathtaking and gifted field for the future.