Alterações no estado nutricional de indivíduos com câncer: uma revisão da literatura

Abstract

This study aims to review the literature on the main changes in the nutritional status of cancer patients and compare two of the most widely used nutritional assessment methods. The set of studies analyzed in this study was identified through a bibliographic search whose main source of data was online databases. Changes in nutritional status are common in cancer patients and represent a serious problem. Therefore, nutritional monitoring should be carried out throughout the treatment of patients diagnosed with cancer, promoting early identification of changes in nutritional status that may interfere with the prognosis. To this end, it is necessary to use assessment methods that can be objective and/or subjective, with the purpose of establishing an appropriate nutritional diagnosis and, from then on, proceeding with the specific nutritional intervention for each individual. Among the assessment methods, there is the body mass index (BMI) which, despite being a quick, cheap and easy-to-obtain method, requires the evaluator's attention because it does not distinguish between muscle mass and body fat. Another method widely used in oncology is the subjective global assessment produced by the patient (PG-SGA), a subjective parameter for assessing nutritional status widely used in clinical practice for assessing and monitoring the nutritional status of cancer patients. There is a need for further studies to investigate changes in the nutritional status of cancer patients using the combination of several nutritional assessment methods, not only BMI and PPP-SGA. The importance of greater participation of the nutritionist together with the multidisciplinary team in the care of cancer patients is also reinforced.