Body weight and fat-free mass changes in a cohort of patients receiving chemotherapy

Malnutrition is prevalent in cancer patients and it can become even greater during its treatment. The purpose of the present study is to verify changes in the fat-free mass (FFM) and body weight (BW) in cancer patients during chemotherapy treatment and to identify their significant determinants. In a longitudinal study of 174 patients starting a chemotherapy protocol, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to estimate FFM and the nutritional assessment by patient-generated subjective global assessment. BW and FFM changes have been calculated and their significant determinants were identified after a multivariate analysis. Malnutrition was found in 23% of the patients at the admission. After a multivariate analysis, a significant BW change was found during the treatment in patients submitted to previous/adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy (weight gain of 4.15% and 2.23%, respectively, p = 0.05) and a significant FFM loss (7.61%, p < 0.01) in patients with severe malnutrition at admission. Only the chemotherapy protocol and initial nutritional state had a significant influence in BW and FFM changes during the chemotherapy. BIA may contribute to other methods of nutritional assessment, in order to detect modifications in body composition even in the absence of BW changes.