Nutritional assessment and intervention in hospitalized cancer patients at risk of or with malnutrition: evaluation of the effect on anthropometric and body composition parameters

Introduction: malnutrition is a common problem in cancer patients that worsens during hospitalization and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and impaired quality of life.Objectives: to describe the effect of implementing a nutritional assessment and support protocol on the nutritional status of hospitalized cancer patients.Methods: a prospective, cross-sectional, non-controlled, quasi-experimental study in cancer patients admitted to an oncology service consecu-tively regardless of their nutritional status between September 2019 and March 2020. Anthropometric parameters, body composition, and hand grip strength were measured at admission and discharge. The percentage of patients with malnutrition, dynapenia, and sarcopenia at admission and discharge was calculated.Results: a total of 90 cancer patients participated in this study (mean age: 66 years, 67.8 % men); 33.2 % of the patients had a tumor in the gastrointestinal tract and 73.3 % of the patients were in stage IV; 95 % required nutritional support (nutritional supplementation, enteral nutrition or parenteral nutrition). After the nutritional intervention, no differences were found in the anthropometric parameters with a mean weight loss of 0.1, although improvements in body composition were observed. The percentage of malnourished patients remained stable on admission and discharge regardless of the criteria used.Conclusions: the implementation of a protocol for assessment and nutritional support at admission in cancer patients may help prevent or delay the worsening of their nutritional status during hospital stay.