Colorectal cancer patients with malnutrition suffer poor physical and mental health before surgery

• Published in: Surgery 2021-09, Vol.170 (3), p.841-847
• Main Authors: Gillis, Chelsia, Richer, Lauren, Fenton, Tanis R., Gramlich, Leah, Keller, Heather, Culos-Reed, S. Nicole, Sajobi, Tolulope T., Awasthi, Rashami, Carli, Francesco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0039-6060; 1532-7361
• DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2021.04.003

To determine whether there is an association between preoperative nutritional status and preoperative physical function, patient-reported quality of life, and body composition in colorectal cancer patients awaiting elective surgery. We conducted a pooled analysis of individual baseline patient data (n = 266) collected from 5 prehabilitation trials in colorectal cancer surgery. All data were collected approximately 4 weeks before surgery. Each patient’s nutritional status was evaluated using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment: scores 4–8 indicated need for nutritional treatment, whereas ≥9 indicated critical need for a nutrition intervention. Physical function was measured with the 6-minute walk test; patient-reported quality of life was captured with the SF-36; body mass and composition were determined using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance. Mean Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment score was 5.3 (standard deviation: 3.9). Approximately two-thirds of patients had a Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment of 4-8 or ≥9 (n = 162/266). The 6-minute walk test was progressively worse with higher Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment scores (PG-SGA