1091P - Impact of Nutrition on Treatment Outcome in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia of Childhood in Developing Country

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background All conventional modalities of anti-cancer therapy interfere with normal nutrition. Therefore, malnutrition is a major problem in children with cancer. In this study we retrospectively analyzed 500 children suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), who were being intensively treated by National Cancer Institute protocol (MCP 841) during period beginning from August, 1999 to December, 2011, in a tertiary cancer institute. Our aim was to determine the nutritional status at preliminary diagnosis of ALL children and to study the influence of nutrition on complete remission, disease free survival (DFS) and chemotherapeutic toxicity. Procedure The variables studied were height for age (HFA), weight for age (WFA), mid-arm circumference (MAC), biceps skinfold thickness (BSFT) and serum albumin levels. The HFA, WFA, MAC and BSFT were taken as normal if they were between 3rd and 97th percentile curve of the growth chart as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The albumin level was considered normal if the value was equal to or more than 3g%. Results It was observed that 16.8% children were low weight for age and 10.4% were low height for age during diagnosis. Low WFA (p value 0.001), low HFA (p value 0.0001) and low albumin (p-value 0.0001) were significant in DFS. Conclusion We conclude that malnutrition has high impact on ALL prognoses in developing countries. Major nutritional indicators are HFA, WFA, MAC, BSFT and serum albumin. Patients with malnutrition have less DFS duration, more chances for relapse and more therapeutic toxicity when compared to well-nourished children. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.