Nutritional Status of Pediatric Patients with Cancer in Iran: A Single Center Study

Background: As children have a higher metabolic rate and higher calorie needs for growth, they are more susceptible to nutritional depletion than adults. We aimed to assess the nutritional status of children with cancer who were referred to the outpatient clinic of hematology and oncology clinic at Sheikh Children Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. Methods: The nutritional status of the children with cancer was assessed by anthropometric indices and nutritional risk screening tool. We used BMI-forage (BMIFA), height-for-age (HFA) and weight-for-height (WFH) to define malnutrition. The anthropometric indices (BMIFA, HFA, and WFH) were categorized according to z-scores. STRONGkids tool was applied for screening risk of malnutrition. Results: 61 pediatric patients with cancer were assessed. Of the studied patients, 77% were boys (47 patients) with a mean age of 8.4 years (6 months to18 years). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was the most prevalent cancer (64%). 26.2% of the patients had malnutrition according to BMI for age z-score index (underweight), 24.5% according to weight for height (WFH) index (wasting) and 21.3% according to HFA index (stunting). The STRONGkids classified 34.4% of patients as high risk, and 65.6% as moderate risk of malnutrition. Conclusions: Malnutrition was prevalent among pediatric cancer patients in this study, so appropriate nutritional screening and management should be implemented for improving the nutritional status of children with cancer.