Patients with gastrointestinal cancer are more susceptible to unintentional weight loss after chemotherapy treatment

Abstract

There is growing evidence showing that some chemotherapeutic agents employed for oncology treatments contribute to the induction of anorexia, leading to weight loss and the reduction of muscle mass due to the effects of treatment and the tumor, which may trigger the cachexia syndrome. Owing to the complexity of the diagnosis and body evaluation in these patients, the objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of oncology patients submitted to chemotherapy treatment showing a weight loss greater than 5%. We screened 220 oncology patients and shortlisted 10 patients diagnosed with different types of tumors assisted by the Instituto Ribeirãopretano de Combate ao Câncer under chemotherapy treatment and who presented weight loss greater than 5%. Anthropometric data such as weight, height and arm circumference (AC) was used for the calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI). We also used the Arm Muscle Circumference (AMC) and Arm Muscle Area (AMB) and the application of the Oncology Patient Global Nutrition Questionnaire. The results point out that cancer patients presented different anthropometric classification pre-diagnosis and after the beginning of anticancer treatment resulting from the side effects of chemotherapeutic agents and the reduction in the volume of food ingested. Gastrointestinal tract cancer patients presented greater short-term weight loss when compared to other types of tumors. We suggest that the observed weight loss may be related to the MFLOX and FOLFOX treatment protocols, in addition to the reduction in food intake (while maintaining good nutritional quality). These factors together may lead to the reduction of life quality and life expectancy and worsened patients’ prognosis.