Perfil nutricional dos pacientes em tratamento oncológico sem suporte nutricional

Abstract

Introduction: Malnutrition is common among patients with cancers of the head and neck (CP) and upper gastrointestinal tract (TGIA). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the nutritional profile of patients diagnosed with cancer in CP and TGIA undergoing chemotherapy (QT) with or without radiotherapy (RT), in whom they did not undergo outpatient nutritional monitoring. Methods: Cohort study, observational and retrospective, between the years 2016 to 2019. Socioeconomic, clinical and anthropometric data were collected from electronic medical records in three periods: beginning of treatment (T1), during treatment (T2) and at end of treatment or after 6 months (T3). Results: The present study analyzed 122 patients, 73% male, aged 59.58 ± 13.01 years, diagnosed with cancer in TGIA (59.6%), of whom 73% received initial nutritional guidance. There was an average weight loss of 6.20 ± 6.97% over the course of treatment, with an increase of 26.4% in individuals with severe weight loss, with patients with cancer in CP frequently presenting greater malnutrition.(64.8%; p = 0.001). It was not possible to establish an association between receiving initial nutritional guidance and presenting symptoms (p> 0.05) or weight loss in the analyzed times (T1: p = 0.422; T2: p = 0.374 and T3: p = 0.908). In the correlation between the classification of weight loss throughout the treatment and the presence of symptoms, there was an association with dysphagia (p = 0.01) at T1 and mucositis at T2 (p = 0.006) and T3 (p <0.001). Conclusion: Systemic antineoplastic treatment influences the nutritional status of patients with cancer of CP and TGIA, while early and continuous nutritional intervention improves these parameters, favoring the patient’s prognosis.