Abstract
Background/objectivesThe assessment of nutritional status and the quality of life in patients with gastric cancer has become one of the important goals of current clinical treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess the nutritional status in hospitalized gastric cancer patients by using patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) and to analyze the influence of nutritional status on the patients’ quality of life (QOL).MethodsWe reviewed the pathological diagnosis of gastric cancer for 2322 hospitalized patients using PG-SGA to assess their nutritional status and collected data on clinical symptoms, the anthropometric parameters (height, weight, body mass index (BMI), mid-arm circumference (MAC), triceps skin-fold thickness (TSF), and hand-grip strength (HGS). We also collected laboratory data (prealbumin, albumin, hemoglobin) within 48 h after the patient was admitted to the hospital. The 30-item European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) was used for QOL assessment in all patients.ResultsBy using PG-SGA, we found 80.4% of the patients were malnourished (score ≥ 4) and 45.1% of the patients required urgent nutritional support (score ≥ 9). In univariate analysis, old age (> 65 years, p < 0.001), female (p = 0.007), residence in a village (p = 0.004), a lower level of education (p < 0.001), and self-paying (p < 0.001) were indicated as risk factors of patients with gastric cancer to be suffering from severe malnutrition. There was a negative correlation between PG-SGA and various nutritional parameters (p < 0.05). The quality of life was significantly different in gastric cancer patients with different nutritional status (p < 0.01).ConclusionMalnutrition of hospitalized patients with gastric cancer in China is common and seriously affects the patients’ quality of life. The nutritional status should be evaluated in a timely manner and reasonable nutritional intervention should be provided as soon as possible. The PG-SGA was fit for using as a clinical nutrition assessment method, being worthy of clinical application.
Highlights
At present, the incidence of cancer and the rate of mortality are still rising and are a major disease threat to human life and health
The nutritional status was evaluated by Patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-subjective global assessment (SGA)), and the quality of life assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30
A total of 2322 hospitalized patients with gastric cancer were analyzed through this study
Summary
The incidence of cancer and the rate of mortality are still rising and are a major disease threat to human life and health. The INSCOC is a nationwide cross-sectional survey on the correlation between nutritional status and clinical outcome in patients with malignant tumors It was initiated and implemented by the Chinese Cancer Society Cancer nutrition and support Specialized Committee. The Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-C30 V3.0 has been proven to be valid, reliable, and clinically relevant [11] It includes 30 subjects divided into five categories defining functions (physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function, and social function), three categories qualifying symptoms (fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain), six single measurement subjects (difficulty in breathing, insomnia, loss of appetite, constipation, diarrhea, economic difficulties), and one score for the overall quality of life.
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