Editorial: Nutrition in pancreatic diseases: the role of nutritional status and nutrition therapy in the management of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

While the link between acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer is complex and bidirectional (2), both 49 entities share prominent common nutritional risk factors, namely obesity and alcohol consumption ( In summary, the works compiled in this Research Topic expand the current state of knowledge on the 88 relevance of nutritional and metabolic status in pancreatic diseases. However, it is also revealed that 89 many aspects still require further investigation. Notably, the role of nutritional status in chronic 90 pancreatitis, an entity with high malnutrition prevalence (6,7), remains poorly investigated. As recent 91 evidence suggests that intensified nutritional therapy may also improve prognosis in malnourished 92 patients with chronic pancreatitis (8), it is desirable that future research addresses nutritional aspects 93 in this entity as well. Finally, sarcopenia is a common condition among patients affected by pancreatic 94 cancer. The nutritional status seems to have a prognostic role in patients undergoing pancreatic surgery 95 (9). It would be useful, especially in patients who should undergo biliary stent placement or 96 neoadjuvant chemotherapy while awaiting surgery, to follow a pre-habilitation program, which 97 includes increased nutritional intake as well as to increase muscle strength, and therefore the possibility 98 of greater physical activity performance. 99 100 101