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Nutritional and functional factors as prognostic of surgical cancer patients

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Abstract

Purpose

We evaluated phase angle, sarcopenia, and handgrip strength as prognostic factors of postoperative morbimortality in patients with cancer.

Methodology

We conducted a prospective study with 60 oncology patients admitted for elective surgery between November 2015 and May 2016. We calculated the standardized phase angle (SPA) and the skeletal mass index of the subjects based on their bioelectrical impedance tests. Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured using a hydraulic dynamometer. Diagnosis of sarcopenia followed the criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. The nutritional status of each subject was evaluated through the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment. Evaluation of postoperative complications followed the Clavien-Dindo classification. We also evaluated the duration of hospital stay. Outcomes were postoperative complications and duration of hospital stay.

Results

The prevalence of malnutrition was 28.3%, and the prevalence of sarcopenia was 18.6%. The SPA was significantly lower among those who had severe postoperative complications or long hospital stays, while HGS and sarcopenia showed no relationship with these outcomes. Malnutrition was also related to postoperative outcomes.

Conclusion

SPA can be considered a prognostic factor in postoperative morbimortality for patients with cancer.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Hospital Escola da Universidade Federal de Pelotas and the members of the Liga Acadêmica de Cirurgia Geral da Universidade Federal de Pelotas.

Statement of authorship

JH participated in the development and coordination of research, data processing and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. SPO participated in the analysis of the data and reviewed the manuscript. MCG was the lead on the study, performed the statistical analysis of the data, and revised the article. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Post-graduate Program, Nutrition and Food, Federal University of Pelotas, Rua Gomes Carneiro, 01, Pelotas, RS, 96010-610, Brazil

    Jéssica Härter, Silvana Paiva Orlandi & Maria Cristina Gonzalez

  2. Post-graduate Program, Health and Behavioral, Catholic University of Pelotas, Rua Gonçalves Chaves, 373, Pelotas, RS, 96015-560, Brazil

    Maria Cristina Gonzalez

Authors
  1. Jéssica Härter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jéssica Härter.

Ethics declarations

This research was approved by the Ethics Committee in Research of the Medical School of Universidade Federal de Pelotas, through no. 1,200.730, CAAE 47701015.1.0000.5317.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committees and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Härter, J., Orlandi, S.P. & Gonzalez, M.C. Nutritional and functional factors as prognostic of surgical cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 25, 2525–2530 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3661-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-017-3661-4

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