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. 2021 Feb 4;18(4):1478.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041478.

Prevalence of Undernutrition and Effect of Body Weight Loss on Survival among Pediatric Cancer Patients in Northeastern Hungary

Orsolya Kadenczki  1 , Attila Csaba Nagy  2 , Csongor Kiss  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of Undernutrition and Effect of Body Weight Loss on Survival among Pediatric Cancer Patients in Northeastern Hungary

Orsolya Kadenczki et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Undernutrition is a prevalent condition in pediatric malignancy patients leading to unfavorable outcomes. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the nutritional status and rate of undernutrition in 174 Hungarian pediatric patients with malignancies and the impact on 5-year survival based on anthropometric measurements. At the time of diagnosis, 5.0%, 4.6%, and 4.0% of patients were undernourished as determined by body weight (BW), weight-for-height (WFH), and body mass index (BMI) Z-score, respectively. The rate of undernutrition was 30.5% using ideal body weight percent (IBW%). Undernutrition at the time of diagnosis worsened the five-year overall survival only in solid tumor patients as defined by BMI Z-score and IBW%. Furthermore, 26.5% of patients became undernourished based on IBW% during the treatment period. Deterioration of nutritional status during treatment unfavorably influenced overall survival in both hematological and solid tumor subsets. Abnormal BW, WFH, and BMI Z-score were associated with poor prognosis in the hematologic group. The mortality risk was higher among hematologic patients with weight loss exceeding 20%. In conclusion, IBW% seems to be the most sensitive parameter to estimate undernutrition. Furthermore, BMI Z-score in both groups and severe weight loss in the hematological group may influence clinical outcome and play a role in prognosis assessment.

Keywords: cancer; nutrition; pediatric; survival; weight loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Probability of overall survival for patients with pediatric hematologic malignancies determined by body weight Z-score at diagnosis. OS: overall survival, BW: body weight.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Probability of overall survival for patients with hematologic malignancies determined by body weight loss percent in course of treatment. OS: overall survival, BWL%: body weight loss percent.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Probability of event-free survival of patients with solid tumors determined by body mass index Z-score at the end of treatment. EFS: event-free survival, BMI: body mass index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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