Nutritional Assessment Tools for Patients with Cancer:A Narrative Review

Cancer patients are at high risk of malnutrition,which can lead to adverse health outcomes such as prolonged hospitalization,increased complications,and increased mortality.Accurate and timely nutritional assessment plays a critical role in effectively managing malnutrition in these patients.However,while many tools exist to assess malnutrition,there is no universally accepted standard.Although different tools have their own strengths and limitations,there is a lack of narrative reviews on nutritional assessment tools for cancer patients.To address this knowledge gap,we conducted a non-systematic literature search using PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,and the Cochrane Library from their inception until May 2023.A total of 90 studies met our selection criteria and were included in our narrative review.We evaluated the applications,strengths,and limitations of 4 commonly used nutritional assessment tools for cancer patients:the Subjective Global Assessment(SGA),Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment(PG-SGA),Mini Nutritional Assessment(MNA),and Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition(GLIM).Our findings revealed that malnutrition was associated with adverse health outcomes.Each of these 4 tools has its applications,strengths,and limitations.Our findings provide medical staff with a foundation for choosing the optimal tool to rapidly and accurately assess malnutrition in cancer patients.It is essential for medical staff to be familiar with these common tools to ensure effective nutritional management of cancer patients.

Comparison of different nutritional assessments in detecting malnutrition among gastric cancer patients

AIM: To evaluate the prevalence of preoperative and postoperative malnutrition and the relationships between objective and subjective nutritional assessment of gastric cancer patients. METHODS: From October 2005 to July 2006, we studied 80 patients with no evidence of recurrent disease and no loss to follow-up after curative surgery for gastric cancer. In this group, 9 patients underwent total gastrectomy and 71 patients subtotal gastrectomy. At admission, 6 and 12 mo after surgery, the patients were assessed on the subjective global assessment (SGA), nutritional risk screening (NRS-2002), nutritional risk index (NRI) and by anthropometric measurements and laboratory data. Differences between the independent groups were assessed with the Student's t test and oneway analysis of variance. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the association between the scores and variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition at admissionwas 31% by SGA and 43% by NRS-2002. At admission, the anthropometric data were lower in the malnourished groups defined by the SGA and NRS-2002 assessments, but did not differ between the groups using the NRI assessment. Body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), triceps skin fold and midarm circumference were significantly reduced, but the total lymphocyte count, albumin, protein, cholesterol and serum iron levels did not decrease during the postoperative period. Six months after surgery, there was a good correlation between the nutritional assessment tools (SGA and NRS-2002) and the other nutritional measurement tools (BW, BMI, and anthropometric measurements). However, 12 mo after surgery, most patients who were assessed as malnourished by SGA and NRS-2002 had returned to their preoperative status, although their BW, BMI, and anthropometric measurements still indicated a malnourished status. CONCLUSION: A combination of objective and subjective assessments is needed for the early detection of the nutritional status in case of gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy.

Nutritional assessment with different tools in leukemia patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Objective： Correct nutritional assessment is essential for leukemia patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation （HSCT）. This study aimed to investigate the best nutritional assessment method for leukemia patients after HSCT, and find the possible nutritional risk of the patients during the transplantation process in order to intervene in the patients with nutritional risks and undernourished patients timely, so that the entire transplantation process could be successfully completed. Methods： A prospective study was performed in 108 leukemia patients after HSCT, and different nutritional assessment methods, including nutritional risk screening 2002 （NRS2002）, mini nutritional assessment （MNA）, subjective globe assessment （SGA） and malnutritional universal screening tools （MUST）, were used. The associations between nutritional status of these patients and nutritional assessment methods were analyzed. Results： A total of 108 patients completed SGA, and 99 patients completed NRS2002, MNA and MUST. During the treatment process, 85.2% of the patients lost weight, wherein, 50% lost weight greater than 5%, and 42.6% had significantly reduced food intake. For nutritional risk assessment, the positive rates of NRS2002, MNA and MUST were 100%, 74.7% and 63.6%, respectively. There was a significant difference （P〈0.05） among the positive rates of NRS2002, MNA and MUST. In undernutrition assessment, the positive rate of SGA （83.3%） was significantly higher than that of MNA （17.2%） （P〈0.05）, and the incidence rate of nutritional risk among leukemia patients _〈30 years old was greater than that of patients 〉30 years old （P〈0.05）. Conclusions： Patients with leukemia were in poor nutritional status during and after HSCT. The leukemia patients 〈30 years old had a greater incidence rate of nutritional risk. As nutritional risk screening tool, the specificity of NRS2002 is not high, but it can be used for evaluating nutritional deficiencies. MNA is a good nutritional risk screening tool, but not an adequate tool for nutritional assessment. If assessment of undernutrition is necessary, the combination of all these screening tools and clinical laboratory indicators should he applied to improve accuracy.

Nutritional assessment in patients with liver cirrhosis

Malnutrition is a liver cirrhosis complication affecting more than 20%-50%of patients.Although the term can refer to either nutrient deficiency or excess,it usually relates to undernutrition in cirrhosis settings.Frailty is defined as limited physical function due to muscle weakness,whereas sarcopenia is defined as muscle mass loss and an advanced malnutrition stage.The pathogenesis of malnutrition in liver cirrhosis is multifactorial,including decreased oral intake,maldigestion/malabsorption,physical inactivity,hyperammonemia,hypermetabolism,altered macronutrient metabolism and gut microbiome dysbiosis.Patients with chronic liver disease with a Body Mass Index of<18.5 kg/m2 and/or decompensated cirrhosis or Child-Pugh class C are at the highest risk of malnutrition.For patients at risk of malnutrition,a detailed nutritional assessment is required,typically including a history and physical examination,laboratory testing,global assessment tools and body composition testing.The latter can be done using anthropometry,cross-sectional imaging including computed tomography or magnetic resonance,bioelectrical impedance analysis and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.A multidisciplinary team should screen for and treat malnutrition in patients with cirrhosis.Malnutrition and sarcopenia are associated with an increased risk of complications and a poor prognosis in patients with liver cirrhosis;thus,it is critical to diagnose these conditions early and initiate the appropriate nutritional therapy.In this review,we describe the prevalence and pathogenesis of malnutrition in liver cirrhosis patients and discuss the best diagnostic approach to nutritional assessment for them.

The Values of the Prognostic Nutrition Index and the Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment during the Nutritional Assessment of Patients with Gastrointestinal Tumors

Objective To compare the value and consistency among the Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment(PG-SGA)and the Prognostic Nutrition Index(PNI)for assessing nutritional status in gastrointestinal tumor patients.Methods 251 patients from gastric cancer surgical ward from January 2019 to January 2020 were recruited through convenience sampling in this respective study.Nutritional screening and assessment were conducted for 251 gastrointestinal tumor patients using the nutritional risk screening 2002(NRS 2002)PG-SGA,and the PNI.PNI was calculated using the serum albumin level and the total lymphocyte count obtained from the patients’routine laboratory examination when they were admitted to the hospital.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)of the PG SGA and the PNI were plotted with the NRS 2002 used as the gold standard,and the diagnostic value of the PG-SGA and PNI was reflected by the area under the curve(AUC),sensitivity,specificity and Youden index.We then determined the optimal cut-off for the PNI and tested the consistency of the PG-SGA and PNI.Results The optimal cut-off point for the PNI was calculated to be 50.78.The AUC of the PG-SGA was 0.908(95%CI 0.871-0.944).The sensitivity was 89.9%,specificity was 76.2%and the Youden index was 0.661.The AUC of the PNI was 0.594(95%CI 0.516-0.572).The sensitivity was 73.8%,specificity was 44.3%and the Youden index was 0.181.In the consistency test,the kappa value was 0.838(P<0.001).Conclusion The PNI is of limited value for assessing malnutrition,although it did have good consistency with the PG-SGA.The combination of the PNI and PG-SGA can be used for diagnosing assessing malnutrition in clinical practice.

Nutritional assessment in cirrhotic patients with hepatic encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy(HE) is one of the worst complications of liver disease and can be greatly influenced by nutritional status. Ammonia metabolism, inflammation and muscle wasting are relevant processes in HE pathophysiology. Malnutrition worsens the prognosis in HE, requiring early assessment of nutritional status of these patients. Body composition changes induced by liver disease and limitations superimposed by HE hamper the proper accomplishment of exams in this population, but evidence is growing that assessment of muscle mass and muscle function is mandatory due to the role of skeletal muscles in ammonia metabolism. In this review, we present the pathophysiological aspects involved in HE to support further discussion about advantages and drawbacks of some methods for evaluating the nutritional status of cirrhotic patients with HE, focusing on body composition.

Comparison of different preoperative objective nutritional indices for evaluating 30-d mortality and complications after liver transplantation

BACKGROUND The nutritional status is closely related to the prognosis of liver transplant re-cipients,but few studies have reported the role of preoperative objective nutri-tional indices in predicting liver transplant outcomes.AIM To compare the predictive value of various preoperative objective nutritional indicators for determining 30-d mortality and complications following liver transplantation(LT).METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on 162 recipients who underwent LT at our institution from December 2019 to June 2022.RESULTS This study identified several independent risk factors associated with 30-d mor-tality,including blood loss,the prognostic nutritional index(PNI),the nutritional risk index(NRI),and the control nutritional status.The 30-d mortality rate was 8.6%.Blood loss,the NRI,and the PNI were found to be independent risk factors for the occurrence of severe postoperative complications.The NRI achieved the highest prediction values for 30-d mortality[area under the curve(AUC)=0.861,P<0.001]and severe complications(AUC=0.643,P=0.011).Compared to those in the high NRI group,the low patients in the NRI group had lower preoperative body mass index and prealbumin and albumin levels,as well as higher alanine aminotransferase and total bilirubin levels,Model for End-stage Liver Disease scores and prothrombin time(P<0.05).Furthermore,the group with a low NRI exhibited significantly greater incidences of intraabdominal bleeding,primary graft nonfunction,and mortality.CONCLUSION The NRI has good predictive value for 30-d mortality and severe complications following LT.The NRI could be an effective tool for transplant surgeons to evaluate perioperative nutritional risk and develop relevant nutritional therapy.

Prospective study to evaluate the prognostic value of different nutritional assessment scores in liver surgery: NURIMAS Liver (DRKS00006340)

Background:Malnutrition is recognised as a preoperative risk factor for patients undergoing hepatic resection.It is important to identify malnourished patients and take preventive therapeutic action before surgery.However,there is no evidence regarding which existing nutritional assessment score(NAS)is best suited to predict outcomes of liver surgery.Methods:All patients scheduled for elective liver resection at the surgical department of the University Hospital of Heidelberg and the Municipal Hospital of Karlsruhe were screened for eligibility.Twelve NASs were calculated before operation,and patients were categorised according to each score as being either at risk or not at risk for malnutrition.The association of malnutrition according to each score and occurrence of at least one major complication was the primary endpoint,which was achieved using a multivariate logistic regression analysis including established risk factors in liver surgery as covariates.Results:The population consisted of 182 patients.The percentage of patients deemed malnourished by the NAS varied among the different scores,with the lowest being 2.20%(Mini Nutritional Assessment)and the highest 52.20%(Nutritional Risk Classification).Forty patients(22.0%)had a major complication.None of the scores were significantly associated with major complications.Conclusions:None of the twelve investigated NAS defined a state of malnutrition that was independently associated with postoperative complications.Other means of measuring malnutrition in liver surgery should be investigated prospectively.

Evaluating the Nutritional Status of Oncology Patients and Its Association with Quality of Life

Objective The primary aim of the study was to compare two nutritional status evaluation tools： the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment（PG-SGA） and Nutritional Risk Screening（NRS-2002）. Using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire 30（EORTC QLQ-C30）, the second aim was to provide constructive advice regarding the quality of life of patients with malignancy. Methods This study enrolled 312 oncology patients and assessed their nutritional status and quality of life using the PG-SGA, NRS-2002, and EORTC QLQ-C30. Results The data indicate that 6% of the cancer patients were well nourished. The SGA-A had a higher sensitivity（93.73%） but a poorer specificity（2.30%） than the NRS-2002（69.30% and 25.00%, respectively） after comparison with albumin. There was a low negative correlation and a high similarity between the PG-SGA and NRS-2002 for evaluating nutritional status, and there was a significant difference in the median PG-SGA scores for each of the SGA classifications（P 〈 0.001）. The SGA-C group showed the highest PG-SGA scores and lowest body mass index. The majority of the target population received 2 points for each item in our 11-item questionnaire from the EORTC QLQ-C30. Conclusion The data indicate that the PG-SGA is more useful and suitable for evaluating nutritional status than the NRS-2002. Additionally, early nutrition monitoring can prevent malnutrition and improve the quality of life of cancer patients.

Comprehensive evaluation of nutritional status before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 170 patients with hematological diseases

Objective： To investigate the nutritional status of patients before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation（HSCT）, and explore optimal methods for assessing nutritional status in patients with hematological diseases.Methods： This cohort study enrolled 170 patients who were diagnosed with hematological diseases and underwent allogeneic HSCT in the Department of Hematology, Peking University People＇s Hospital between May2011 and April 2013. We used fixed-point continuous sampling and four nutritional screening tools, Nutritional Risk Screening 2002（NRS-2002）, Mini Nutritional Assessment（MNA）, Subjective Global Assessment（SGA） and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tools（MUST）, in combination with body measurements, to extensively screen and evaluate nutritional risks and status in patients receiving HSCT before entering and after leaving laminar air flow rooms.Results： After HSCT, patients had significant reduction in weight, hip circumference, waist-hip ratio, calf circumference, mid-upper arm circumference, and suprailiac skinfold thickness compared with pre-HSCT measurements. Before HSCT, NRS-2002 identified that 21.2% of patients were at nutritional risks, compared with100% after HSCT. MUST indicated that before HSCT, 11.77% of patients were at high nutritional risk,compared with 59.63% after HSCT. MNA assessed that 0.06% of patients were malnourished before HSCT,compared with 19.27% after HSCT. SGA identified that before HSCT, 1.76% of patients had mild to severe malnutrition, which increased to 83.3% after HSCT. There is a significant increase in the nutritional risk and malnutrition in patients who received HSCT.Conclusions： Before HSCT, some patients already had nutritional risk or nutritional deficiencies, and prompt and close nutritional screening or assessment should be performed. The nutritional status of patients after HSCT was generally deteriorated compared with that before transplantation. Body measurements should be taken more frequently during the subsequent treatment window in the laminar air flow rooms. After HSCT, it is recommended to combine MNA and SGA to fully evaluate the nutritional status, and thus provide timely and reasonable nutritional support.

Nutritional Support Treatment for Severe Chronic Hepatitis and Posthepatitic Cirrhosis

The therapeutic effectiveness of nutritional support in the treatment of severe chronic hepatitis and posthepatitic cirrhosis was evaluated. 143 patients with severe chronic hepatitis and 83 with posthepatitic cirrhosis were evaluated with SGA for assessing the nutritional status before the treatment. Patients with severe chronic hepatitis were divided into three groups： group A subject to enteral nutrition （EN） and parenteral nutrition （PN）, group B subject to comprehensive treatment （CT） ＋PN; group C subject to CT＋EN. The patients with posthepatitic cirrhosis were divided in- to two groups： group D receiving CT and group E receiving CT＋ PN ＋ EN. The function of liver and kidney and nutritional status were monitored to assess the therapy in 6 weeks. The results showed before treatment, over 90% patients had moderate to severe malnutrition. After nutritional support, the liver function （ALT, T-bil） and nutritional status （TP, TC） in group A was improved significantly as compared with that in groups B and C （P〈0.05）. Compared with group D, the values of TP and Alb were increased significantly in group E （P〈0. 05）, but the levels of ALT, AST and T-bil had no obvious change. It was suggested that most patients with severe chronic hepatitis or posthepatitic cirrhosis had malnutrition to varying degrees. The nutritional support treatment could obviously improve the nutritional status of these patients, and was helpful to ameliorate the liver function of the patients with severe chronic hepatitis. Among the methods of nutritional support treatment, PN combined with EN had the best effectiveness.

Nutritional Evaluation by Nurses and Physical Recovery of Malnourished Patients after Esophagectomy

Following an esophagectomy, nurses’ patient nutrition observations are important for physical recovery and quality of life. The study proposed to identify the factors associated with physical recovery among esophageal cancer patients after surgery based on nurses’ observations and nutritional evaluations. Data were collected from the nursing records of 21 esophagectomy patients. The data included patients’ rate of weight loss, body mass index (BMI), energy intake, and postoperative complications. Patients were divided into two groups according to their weight loss rate: <8% and ≥8%. Patient outcomes were compared between the two groups. There was no difference in average BMI before or after surgery between the two groups. There was no difference in albumin levels during hospitalization;however, after esophagectomy, energy intake at discharge was insufficient in both groups. The ≥8% weight loss may be facilitated, or at least confounded, by the presence of recurrent nerve paralysis and aspiration pneumonia. Thus, the nursing records typically identified the need to check for recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and aspiration pneumonia in conjunction with nutritional assessment to enhance patients’ physical recovery. When weight loss was significant, nurses provided oral intake support with the NST, and patients maintained oral intake levels similar to the group with weight loss under 8%. In order to better support physical recovery among malnourished, post esophagectomy patients, nurses need to monitor for signs of recurrent nerve palsy and aspiration pneumonia in addition to nutritional intake.

Nutritional Therapy in Patients Undergoing Elective Colorectal Cancer Surgery

The high incidence of malnutrition in patients with colorectal cancer directly affects their clinical outcomes,and is associated with increased postoperative complications,prolonged hospital stays,and decreased tolerance of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.Therefore,the nutritional management of patients with colorectal cancer is important.The perioperative nutritional management of patients includes preoperative education,nutritional screening and evaluation,preoperative intestinal preparation,and postoperative nutritional management.This article summarizes the current status of perioperative nutritional therapy and bowel preparation for patients with colorectal cancer.

Nutritional Profile of Oncology Patients from an Outpatient Nutritional Service in Brazil

Objective To characterize the nutritional variables of patients referred to an outpatient oncology nutrition service.Methods The electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with malignant neoplasms were analyzed for several parameters:weight loss,body mass index(BMI),hand-grip strength(HGS),fat-free mass index(FFMI)and serum C-reactive protein(CRP).Statistical methods included Pearson’s correlation(significance was set at P≤0.05).Results There was a high prevalence of malnutrition(44%,n=28)and sarcopenia(61%,n=23)and a relatively low prevalence of cachexia(13%,n=6).Moderate positive correlations were observed between the tumor site and CRP level,correlation r=0.328(P=0.026);the tumor site and BMI(r=0,P=0.001);FFMI and BMI(r=0.606,P=4.334056e-005)and CRP and weight loss(r=0.355,P=0.024).There were negative correlations between the tumor staging and BMI (r=-0.409,P=0.001)and weight loss and FFMI(r=-0.467,P=3,228325e-004).Conclusion These preliminary findings may help institutions implement nutritional approaches,such as the adoption of a line-ofcare focused on nutrition in the department of oncology.

Assessment of Risk of Malnutrition in Elderly Hypertensive Patients with or without Associated Cardiovascular Risk Factors Living at Home (West Algeria) Sidi-Bel-Abbès

Undernutrition is frequently underestimated in the elderly, because clinical manifestations are non-specific. For the francophone Club geriatrics and nutrition, poly medication is one of the warning signs to be the possibility of malnutrition in an elderly person. To do this, it is particularly interesting to verify what the profiles of hypertensive patients who are at risk of malnutrition are. This component remains very little explored and studies are lacking. The authors conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study whose objective is to evaluate the prevalence of undernutrition in hypertensive patients with or without associated cardiovascular risk factors, in a population of consultants of liberal medical offices, determine the profiles of hypertensive patients who are at risk of undernutrition and describe their eating habits and their anthropometric parameters as well as the link between the number of supported antihypertensives and risk of undernutrition. 1144 patients with an average age of 65 years old have been collected during the period of recruitment. The data collection was done using a questionnaire: the MNA. Sensitive and specific, it is validated method which has international sacle. The percentage of the risk of malnutrition was estimated at 36.7%. Thus the number of associated cardiovascular risk factors becomes larger, and the risk of malnutrition is increased. The risk of malnutrition was three times higher in patients who take more than three medications per day compared with those who consumed less (75.8% vs. 24.2%). As a monotherapy, an increased risk of malnutrition is associated with diuretics. For these older hypertensives, the risk of malnutrition was linked to the type of used dual. The percentage of hypertension risk of malnutrition treated with free dual was significantly higher compared to hypertensive treated dual handset. Some associations have proved to be more favorable than others in terms of nutritional risk. Finally, a third of hypertension patients who were treated with quadruple therapy were at risk of malnutrition. This work was also designed to present an argument to a doctor to detect the risk of undernutrition in elderly hypertensives. The use of the MNA is a simple, effective and quick way for pressure balance rhymes with nutritional balance.

Expression of the Viral Antigen VP60 in Transgenic Potatoes and its Effect on the Nutritional Composition of Tubers

Recombinant plant-derived pharmaceuticals have been investigated for the last two decades and some products will soon be brought to market. Since veterinary pharmaceuticals seem to be the front-runners of plant-derived vaccines, we selected one model subunit vaccine, the structural capsid protein VP60 against rabbit haemorrhagic disease, and ana-lyzed the expression of three different sequences representing the vp60 open reading frame in potato plants. The gen-eration of antigenic VP60 molecules in the leaf and tuber tissue of potato was tremendously enhanced by replacing virus-derived sequences with plant-optimized codons. In order to identify potentially undesirable alterations in the composition of these genetically modified food components, we studied their nutrient composition and nutritional value in comparison to two parental conventional breeding varieties (Albatros and Desiree). The largest differences in nutrient composition were found between the two conventional breeds and between conventional Desiree and its near-isogenic genetically modified potato plant, indicating that genetic modification as well as conventional breeding can influence nutrient composition. Nevertheless, most parameters of nutritional value seemed to be more affected by conventional breeding than by genetic modification.

Handgrip Strength as a Predictor of Nutritional Status in Chinese Elderly Inpatients at Hospital Admission

Objective To assess nutritional status and define gender-and age-specific handgrip strength（HGS） cut-point values for malnutrition or nutritional risk in elderly inpatients. Methods A cross-sectional study of 1,343 elderly inpatients was conducted in the Chinese PLA General Hospital. Nutrition Risk Screening（NRS 2002） and Subjective Global Assessment（SGA） were administered. Anthropometric measurements and blood biochemical indicators were obtained using standard techniques. The gender-and age-specific receiver operating characteristic（ROC） curves were constructed to evaluate the HGS for nutritional status by SGA and NRS 2002. Sensitivity, specificity, and areas under the curves（AUCs） were calculated. Results According to NRS 2002 and SGA, 63.81% of elderly inpatients were at nutritional risk and 28.22% were malnourished. Patients with higher HGS had an independently decreased risk of malnutrition and nutritional risk. The AUCs varied between 0.670 and 0.761. According to NRS 2002, the optimal HGS cut-points were 27.5 kg（65-74 years） and 21.0 kg（75-90 years） for men and 17.0 kg（65-74 years） and 14.6 kg（75-90 years） for women. According to SGA, the optimal HGS cut-points were 24.9 kg（65-74 years） and 20.8 kg（75-90 years） for men and 15.2 kg（65-74 years） and 13.5 kg（75-90 years） for women. Conclusion Elderly inpatients had increased incidence of malnutrition or nutritional risk. HGS cut-points can be used for assessing nutritional status in elderly inpatients at hospital admission in China.

Value of the controlling nutritional status score and psoas muscle thickness per height in predicting prognosis in liver transplantation

BACKGROUND Patients with end-stage liver disease usually have varying degrees of malnutrition,and severe malnutrition may affect the prognosis of patients after liver transplantation(LT).However,there is no recommended standard for the nutrition assessment of patients waiting for LT,and it is unknown whether malnutrition has an impact on the occurrence of postoperative complications.AIM The study aim was to investigate the value of the controlling nutritional status(CONUT)score and psoas muscle thickness per height(PMTH)in predicting prognosis in LT.METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 313 patients who underwent classic orthotopic LT from January 2016 to December 2018 in Tianjin First Central Hospital affiliated with Tianjin Medical University.The CONUT score is derived from the preoperative serum albumin and total cholesterol levels,and total lymphocyte count.Patients were divided into low(≤4),medium(5–8),and high(9–12)CONUT score groups perioperative characteristics,Clavien-Dindo grade III/IV/V postoperative complications,graft loss and infection,and cumulative postoperative survival in the three groups were compared 3 mo after LT.PMTH was calculated as the ratio of the transverse thickness of the psoas muscle in the umbilical plane to the height of the patient.The cutoff values of receiver operating characteristic curves were determined separately for men and women.The values were 14.1 cm/m2 for women and 17.9 cm/m2 for men.The patients were then divided into low and high PMTH groups by the cutoff values.The comparison of data between the two groups was the same as above.RESULTS Patients with medium and high CONUT scores had lower preoperative serum hemoglobin,more intraoperative red blood cell(RBC)transfusions,longer postoperative intensive care unit stay and hospital stays,higher 7 and 14 preoperative-day serum bilirubin levels,and a higher incidence of postoperative grade III/IV complications and infections than patients with low CONUT scores.Differences in the 3-mo cumulative survival among the three groups were not significant.Patients with a low PMTH had higher preoperative serum urea nitrogen,more intraoperative packed RBC and frozen plasma transfusions,longer times to postoperative ventilator extubation,higher incidence of total postoperative complications,and a lower 3-mo cumulative survival than those with a high PMTH.CONCLUSION A CONUT score≥5 and a low PMTH were both associated with poor prognosis in LT.The CONUT score had no predictive value for short-term patient survival after LT,but the PMTH was predictive of short-term patient survival after LT.

Subjective Global Assessment as a Pre-Operative Nutrition Status Screening Tool for Head and Neck Cancer Patients of a Tertiary Health Care Setting

Introduction: In India, 57% of patients with head and neck cancers are documented with nutritional compromise. Active nutritional support has been shown to improve outcomes and reduce the cost of treatment in severely malnourished patients. The assessment of nutritional status should be a priority when initiating medical nutrition therapy. We evaluated the agreement between Subjective and Objective evaluation of pre-operative nutrition status of head and neck cancer patients in a tertiary cancer centre. Methods: Two hundred and thirty seven head and neck cancer patients who underwent surgery were eligible. The patients included both males (147) and females (90) with age varying between 23 - 88 years. All patients were screened for pre-operative nutrition status objectively as well as subjectively. The association of pre-operative SGA scores (A, B and C) subjectively, and PNS score (0, 1, 2) objectively were tested for statistical significance. Results: The cancer sites included tongue in 82, buccal mucosa in 30, thyroid in 28, alveolus in 18, glottis in 10, RMT in 10, nasal cavity in 9, FOM in 8. The pre-operative nutrition status based on subjective scores are A in 156 (65.8%), B in 75 (32%) and C in 6 (2.5%). The objective parameters obtained on the basis of BMI, % weight loss, PNI and S. albumin values are PNS 0 in 161 (67.9%), PNS 1 in 71 (30%) and PNS 2 in 5 (2.1%) patients. As the kappa coefficient p-0.56, there is moderate agreement between the pre-operative nutrition status subjectively as well as objectively. Conclusion: Subjective global assessment is a simple and inexpensive way to screen the pre-operative nutrition status when compared to the other objective assessment tool. SGA has moderate agreement with expensive and complicated objective assessment tools. So it can be a reliable tool for assessing the pre-operative nutrition status.

Nutritional support strategies for cancer cachexia

Tumor cachexia is widely seen in patients with various stages of cancer,manifested by inadequate intake or abnormal hypermetabolism resultingin negative nitrogen and energy balance. Early intervention of nutritionaltherapy and penetrate it into other anti-cancer treatment processes cansignificantly benefit cancer patients who receiving palliative treatment.Nutritional therapy for cancer is a process of planning, implementing, evaluatingand nutritional intervention to treat cancer and its complications orphysical condition, to improve the prognosis of cancer patients, includingnutritional diagnosis (screening/evaluation), nutritional intervention, efficacyevaluation (including follow-up) three stages. In practice, we shouldchoose appropriate nutritional risk assessment tools and interventionmethods according to the actual situation of patients, avoid over-treatment,reduce complications, and maximize patients'interests as far as possible.Nutritional support therapy for cancer involves ethics, morality and thewishes of patients and their families, and needs further exploration andimprovement. The best nutritional support strategy often requires the jointparticipation of many disciplines, including clinicians, nurses, nutritionistsand psychosocial workers. Nutritional support group and multidisciplinarycollaboration group on cancer are gradually becoming a trend. With theaccumulation of experience in cancer nutrition therapy, the developmentand application of drugs and nutritional preparations, and the deepening ofmulti-disciplinary collaboration, more cancer patients will benefit in clinicalwork.