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DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1807892
Nutritional status of women with breast cancer under outpatient chemotherapy
Introduction: Among the various physical changes experienced by women, the impact on nutritional status is noteworthy. For some women, breast cancer treatment may result in weight loss due to chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal symptoms. However, a significant proportion experience the opposite effect, with an increase in body fat and a weight gain of 1 to 5 kg during chemotherapy.
Objective: Given the various nutritional challenges faced by women with breast cancer during chemotherapy, the objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the nutritional status of women with stage I, II, and III breast cancer in the first and third cycles of outpatient chemotherapy and to identify associated factors.
Methods: The prospective longitudinal study was conducted at a Reference Hospital for Cancer Care in Brazil and included women aged ≥18 y diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancer receiving outpatient chemotherapy. Assessments were performed during the 1st and 3rd cycles of chemotherapy, including anthropometric measurements, sociodemographic data, clinical information, and quality of life. Nutritional risk was assessed using the NRS-2002.
Results: Overweight was predominant in both chemotherapy cycles. Approximately 6.67% and 10% of patients were at nutritional risk in the 1st and 3rd chemotherapy cycles, respectively. Anxiety/depression was prevalent in the 1st chemotherapy cycle and was significantly associated with nutritional risk (P = 0.002). The variables age in cycle 3 and pain/discomfort in cycle 1 (P = 0.049 and P = 0.043, respectively) showed a significant association with nutritional risk.
Conclusion: This study highlights the complex interaction between nutritional status, neuropsychological symptoms, and sociodemographic characteristics in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy, and underscores the need for personalized interventions to improve oncological care.
Corresponding author: Luís Carlos Lopes-Júnior (e-mail: lopesjr.lc@gmail.com).
No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).
Publication History
Article published online:
06 May 2025
© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Luís Carlos Lopes-Júnior, Julia Anhoque Cavalcanti Marcarini, Oscar Geovanny Enriquez Martinez, Luiz Claudio Barreto Silva Neto, Thayná Borges Santos, Guilherme Augusto Loiola Passos, Leticia Batista de Azevedo, Nina Bruna de Souza Mawandji, Andressa Bolsoni Lopes, Karolini Zuqui Nunes. Nutritional status of women with breast cancer under outpatient chemotherapy. Brazilian Journal of Oncology 2025; 21.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1807892