Belém, Brazil

IIPAN Center & Collaborators

Hospital Oncológico Infantil Octávio Lobo is a state-owned public hospital located in Belém, Pará and is the only hospital in the North of Brazil entirely dedicated to childhood cancer. The hospital serves patients from several Northern states of Brazil, being a large provider for the local indigenous population.  The North region of Brazil has the highest rates of food insecurity and stunting in the country. Over 61% of the population in Pará lives with food insecurity, as well as over 65% in the state of Amazonas. Unique to Belém, children and their families often follow traditional diets (e.g., açaí, freshwater fish and cassava flour) that are distinct to other regions in Brazil. Approximately 360 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed each year at this institution. IIPAN is an integral partner in providing continuous education for the medical staff and advancing nutritional research and care for the patients served.

Dr. Alayde Vieira, chief of pediatric oncology, and Dr. José Miguel Alves Junior, the hospital’s technical director, are IIPAN’s medical collaborators. They work alongside the hospital’s nutrition team in advancing nutritional education, clinical care and collaborating in multicenter research studies.

Site Challenges

• Extensive education is pressing for most families on nutrition basics.
• Large provider for populations with food insecurity severely impacting adherence to nutritional plans that are followed in the home.
• Patients often present with advanced disease at diagnosis coinciding with severe forms of malnutrition.
• Little training in nutrition methodology and research.
• Lack of mentorship for nutritionists.

Site Needs

• Approaches to address food security.
• Clinical program development and advancing nutrition research.
• Educational initiatives for health care providers, patients, and families.

(Image Source: http://oncologicoinfantil.org.br)