2Department of Radiation Oncology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara-Türkiye
3Department of Radiation Oncology, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul-Türkiye
4Department of Radiation Oncology, Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir-Türkiye
5Department of Radiation Oncology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir-Türkiye
6Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Ankara-Türkiye
7Department of Radiation Oncology, Istanbul Maslak Acibadem Hospital, Istanbul-Türkiye
8Department of Radiation Oncology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Edirne-Türkiye
9Department of Radiation Oncology, Ondokuz Mayis University Faculty of Medicine, Samsun-Türkiye
10Department of Radiation Oncology, Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa-Türkiye
11Department of Radiation Oncology, Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul-Türkiye
12Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sisli Hospital, Istanbul-Türkiye DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2022.3509 OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to assess nutritional status among radiation oncology outpatients.
METHODS
A total of 394 consecutive oncology outpatients who were screened for nutritional status through nutritional
risk screening (NRS) 2002 during their admission to 12 radiation oncology centers across Turkey in October
2018 were included in this cross-sectional screening study. Data on cancer type, time of diagnosis (former
and newly diagnosed), and NRS 2002 scores were recorded. Patients with NRS 2002 scores ≥3 were considered
to be at risk of malnutrition necessitating the provision of nutritional intervention. NRS 2002 scores
were evaluated in the overall study population as well as according to cancer types and time of diagnosis.
RESULTS
NRS 2002 assessment (scores ?3) revealed 133 (33.8%) patients to be at risk for malnutrition. The highest
rates for malnutrition risk were noted for patients with lung cancer (43.8%), head-and-neck cancer
(43.5%), and gastrointestinal tumors (42.7%). Poor nutritional status was evident in 36.0% and 25.3% of
newly diagnosed and former cancer patients, respectively (p=0.067).
CONCLUSION
This screening study revealed malnutrition risk and need for nutritional intervention in 33.8% of cancer
patients, including 36.0% of newly diagnosed patients. A need for nutritional intervention was evident
in two out of every five patients with newly diagnosed cancer, emphasizing the importance of screening
for nutritional risk in every cancer patient at the time of initial diagnosis given the role of appropriate
multimodal nutritional intervention before anti-cancer therapy in the long-term success.