EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND SURVIVAL OF ONCOLOGICAL PATIENTS IN PALLIATIVE TREATMENT

Introduction: Malnutrition and sarcopenia are quite common in patients undergoing palliative cancer treatment. Assessment tools allow early interventions that may improve the quality of life and prognosis.Objective: To assess, through different tools, the influence of nutritional status and sarcopenia on the quality of life and survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancer on palliative chemotherapy.Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was done in patients with gastrointestinal cancer on palliative chemotherapy. Patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) and the EORTC-QLQ-C30 were carried out in 3 evaluations (T1-3). Sarcopenia with EWGSOP2 criteria, including handgrip strength, bioimpedance and computed tomography and gait speed test. Results: 57 patients were included. The mean age was 62 ± 11.7 yr, 56% male and 35% with colorectal cancer. Moderate / severe malnutrition reached 86% of the group. The quality of life (QoLwas worse in patients with severe malnutrition (PG-SGA C) (p <0.001). The severity of sarcopenia was inversely proportional to the QoL (p = 0.05). Concerning survival, patients with severe sarcopenia, have a survival rate of 6.5 months (95% CI). Likewise, severely malnourished patients survived for 9.1 months (95% CI).Conclusion: The severity of malnutrition and sarcopenia reduced the survival and the quality of life of patients with gastrointestinal cancer on palliative chemotherapy.