title: Dietary intake of cancer patients on radiotherapy.
abstract: The dietary intake of cancer patients can affect their nutritional status.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the dietary intake and nutritional status of head and neck cancer patients on radiotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  24-hour recalls and anthropometric measures were taken during the first and third weeks of radiotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 62 patients, significant reductions were found in arm muscle area (p = 0.001) and arm muscle circumference (p < 0.001), and 69% of patients had an average weight loss of 5.7% in three weeks. With regards to their dietary intake, reductions were found in energy (26.5 kcal/kg/d-21.3 kcal/kg/d, p < 0.001), carbohydrate (196.9 g/d - 180.5 g/d, p = 0.020), protein (1.19 g/kg/d-0.93 g/kg/d, p = 0.009) and fat (44.4 g/d-33.1 g/d, p < 0.001) intakes during the study period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The changes that result from cancer radiotherapy led to reductions in dietary intake and negatively affected body composition measures.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Department, Universidade Federal de Ciéncias da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Pistóia
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: de Abreu Nunes
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Andreatta Gottschall
authors.forename: E I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Rabito
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004435:Eating; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015431:Weight Loss