Association between an inflammatory-nutritional index and nutritional status in cancer patients

Introduction: Cachexia is a multifatorial syndrome characterized by loss of body weight, fat and muscle, increasing morbidity and mortality. The use of an index accounting for both serum albumin and C Reactive Protein levels could make early identification of cachexia easier. Objective: To evaluate the variation of an inflammatory nutritional index related to nutritional status in cancer patients. Methods: Cross sectional study including patients with gastrointestinal and lung cancer of a public chemotherapy service in Brazil. Serum albumin and C Reactive Protein were measured and the nutritional status was defined by Subjective Global Assessment. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata 9.2 (TM). Results: A total of 74 patients were evaluated, 58.1% of them were male, mean age 63.4 +/- 11.9 years old. Gastrointestinal cancer was the most prevalent type (71.6%). Only 13.7% of the patients were well nourished and 21.9% were severely malnourished. C Reactive Protein significantly increased according to nutritional status decline (p=0.03). When the albumin from patients with systemic inflammation was evaluated, there was no significant variation in relation to nutritional status (p=0.06). The Inflammatory Nutritional Index significantly varied in relation to nutritional status independent of the systemic inflammation (p=0.02). Conclusions: Inflammatory Nutritional Index can be an adjuvant way for biochemical nutritional assessment and follow up in cancer patients with systemic inflammation. (Nutr Hosp. 2013;28:188-193) DOI:10.3305/nh.2013.28.1.6167