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Topical Area: Diet and Cancer

Diet and Cancer (Poster Session)

(P13-027-23) Assessment of Preoperative Disease-Related Malnutrition in Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients

Sunday, July 23, 2023
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 252

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Irene Lidoriki, PhD (she/her/hers)

    Post-doctoral fellow
    Harvard School of Public Health & Cambridge Health Alliance
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • MF

    Maximos Frountzas

    First Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, Hippocration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • DS

    Dimitrios Schizas

    First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • EK

    Eva Karanikki

    First Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, Hippocration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • IM

    Ioannis Moysidis

    First Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, Hippocration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • IT

    Iliana Tsikrikou

    First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • MK

    Maria Kyriakidou

    First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • AM

    Adam Mylonakis

    First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • AK

    Alexandros Kozadinos

    First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • DT

    Dimitrios Theodorou

    First Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, Hippocration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

  • KT

    Konstantinos G. Toutouzas

    First Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, Hippocration General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Disclosure(s):
Irene Lidoriki, n/a: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Malnutrition is common in upper gastrointestinal cancer patients due to the debilitating nature of the disease. The aim of current study is to investigate the prevalence of preoperative disease-related malnutrition and functional impairment in esophageal and gastric cancer patients.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 75 patients with esophageal (n=32) and gastric (n=43) cancer years who were admitted for surgery in the First Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, Hippocration General Hospital and in the First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, Athens, Greece, between February 2022 and February 2023. Out of them, 33 patients underwent esophagectomy and 42 patients underwent gastrectomy. The assessment of patients’ nutritional status included the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and the Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). Patients’ functional status was evaluated by handgrip strength of the dominant hand measured with a hand-held dynamometer. In order to categorize patients into normal or low handgrip strength groups, the cut-offs proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) were used.

Results: The mean age of patients was66.4 ± 12.0. The mean preoperative Body Mass Index was 27.3 ± 5.5 kg/m2. According to PG-SGA, 32 patients (42.7%) were well nourished (Stage A), 22 patients (29.3%) were classified as moderately malnourished (Stage B) and 21 patients (28%) as severely malnourished (Stage C). According to the GLIM criteria, 29 patients (38.7%) were well nourished, whereas 17 patients (22.7%) and 29 patients (38.7%) were moderately and severely malnourished respectively. The mean handgrip strength of patients was 28.7 ± 10.9 kg. Fifty-five patients (73.3%) had normal muscle strength, while 20 patients (26.7%) had impaired muscle functioning preoperatively. In addition, the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity was 16 %.

Conclusions: Our study revealed high rates of malnutrition and functional decline in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract cancer prior to surgery. The results were similar irrespective of the nutritional assessment method used. Perioperative nutritional support should be considered in upper gastrointestinal cancer patients in order to improve postoperative outcomes.

Funding Sources: N/A