Evaluation of the on-diagnosis nutritional status of patients with gastric cancer via different nutritional assessment tools and their association with three-year mortality

Aim

This study aimed to evaluate the on-diagnosis nutritional status of patients with gastric cancer via different nutritional assessment tools and their association with three-year mortality.

Materials and method

In the present prospective study, 303 participants with GC, aged≥18 years old were included. The nutritional status assessment was performed after diagnosis and before initiation of any treatment using PG-SGA, NRS-2002, and MUST tests. All patients were followed up every six months for three years. The overall survival (OS) was calculated from the diagnosis date to the date of death or last visit.

Results

The prevalence of malnutrition was 74.6 %, 66.7 %, and 64.2 % according to NRS-2002, MUST, and PG-SGA tools respectively. There was a slight agreement between PG-SGA and NRS2002 and MUST; and NRS2002 and MUST. Considering the PG-SGA as a reference tool, the sensitivity for NRS2002 was high (83.5 %), but MUST showed low sensitivity (71.6 %). The specificity for both tests was low. There was a significant association between three-year mortality and patients at risk of malnutrition based on the PG-SGA tool (P = 0.04).

Conclusion

The present study showed the high prevalence of malnutrition in GC patients on admission. At diagnosis, PG-SGA should be applied to screen nutritional status, and based on this tool results, proper nutritional interventions should be implemented to improve nutritional status in patients with GC.