Comparison of the nutritional diagnosis, obtained through different methods and indicators, in patients with cancer.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this article is to compare the diagnosis, obtained through different methods and indicators, of nutritional risk in patients with cancer.


METHODS
It was assessed nutritional risk in of 144 oncology patients was assessed, making use of Subjective Global Assessment (SGA, Detsky 1987), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST, 2003), Body Mass Index (BMI) and Serum Albumin.


METHODS
Kappa, chi-square and McNemar tests.


RESULTS
It was found a high prevalence of malnutrition (MUST, 78.32%; SGA, 77.08%; serum albumin level< 3.5 g/dL, 45.60%; BMI < 20.0 kg/m(2), 36.11%) in patients with cancer. In general, there was a higher prevalence in patients with Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer (72.22%), with the stomach cancer being the most common one (29.17%). Tumors of the digestive tract presented with higher nutritional risk according to SGA (p < 0.0001), MUST (p < 0.01), BMI (p < 0,05) and serum albumin level < 3,0 g/dL (p < 0.05); these patients have twenty three times more chances of nutritional risk than patients with cancer in other organs. The patients that have also metastasis presented greater nutritional impairment, according to MUST (p < 0.05) and serum albumin level< 3,0 g/dl (p < 0,01). According to this study, we demonstrate that there is no difference between the Diagnosis of Nutritional Risk, according to MUST and SGA. However, these values are different when confronted with the ones of serum albumin level and BMI.


CONCLUSIONS
The MUST and the Serum Albumin proved to be sensitive methods for the identification of nutritional risk in patients with metastatic cancer. The SGA and MUST tests are good diagnostic tests which presented convergence of results.
Pereira Borges
N
N
Nutritional Therapy Commission, Brazil. nathalieborges@oi.com.br
D'Alegria Silva
B
B
Cohen
C
C
Portari Filho
P E
PE
Medeiros
F J
FJ
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis
D012709:Serum Albumin