biostudies-literatureUnknown20(9)Perganti FFundacion AladinaThe survival rates for children with cancer have increased appreciably over the last few decades; however, childhood cancer survivors continue to suffer from long-lasting sequelae. Studies have demonstrated that the presence of malnutrition, over- and under-nutrition, at diagnosis or the duration of malnutrition during treatment is associated with increased toxicity, infection, and inferior survival. Dietary habits, along with behavioral and socioeconomic status, are known factors that lead to obesity or undernutrition and can affect the prognosis and quality of life of children with cancer. Unfortunately, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these observations are largely unknown. To address this gap in science, we established the EPICkids cohort study, an initiative of the InternatiPloS onee0319110https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12412919biostudies-literatureSouthern European Prospective Investigation Into Childhood Cancer and Nutrition (EPICkids): Study design and protocol.PMC12412919Ladas EJLlort AMunoz Alonso AWalters MBiondi AHuybrechts ILassaletta ABalduzzi ACNicolas GDella Valle SLlopis Lera MKozlakidis ZDamasco EMarquez Vega CKatsagoni CNKattamis AMunoz Bravo ERizzari SBlanco Lopez JMassimino MMorales La Madrid APerganti FBlade ALMoreno LPerez Martinez ABarr RPreziati GfalseSouthern European Prospective Investigation Into Childhood Cancer and Nutrition (EPICkids): Study design and protocol.The survival rates for children with cancer have increased appreciably over the last few decades; however, childhood cancer survivors continue to suffer from long-lasting sequelae. Studies have demonstrated that the presence of malnutrition, over- and under-nutrition, at diagnosis or the duration of malnutrition during treatment is associated with increased toxicity, infection, and inferior survival. Dietary habits, along with behavioral and socioeconomic status, are known factors that lead to obesity or undernutrition and can affect the prognosis and quality of life of children with cancer. Unfortunately, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these observations are largely unknown. To address this gap in science, we established the EPICkids cohort study, an initiative of the Internati2025-01-01T00:00:00Z20252026-06-03T07:08:15.011Z2026-05-29T03:05:47.253ZS-EPMC124129194091156110.1371/journal.pone.0319110