Background/Aims: The phase angle (PA) obtained by bioelectrical impedance has been used as a predictor of nutritional status in cancer. This study aimed to verify the association between the PA and tumour volume in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Methods: Volumetric determination of the tumour mass was performed using a computerised image analysis system incorporated in helical tomography. Lesion segmentation was performed by a semi-automatic process using a region growth algorithm with voxel aggregation. The PA was measured by bioelectrical impedance. Results: A total of 30 male patients with a mean age of 65.6 years were evaluated. The mean values observed for body mass index, PA and tumour volume were 22.5 ± 4.19, 5.66 ± 0.9° and 163.2 ± 207.5 ml, respectively. The tumour volumes were negatively correlated with the PA (r = –0.55; p < 0.001) and positively correlated with the ratio between the extracellular mass and the body cell mass (ECM/BCM) (r = 0.59; p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, independent predictors for both PA and ECM/BCM were tumour volume and Karnofsky performance status score. Conclusions: In NSCLC, the PA is closely associated with tumour volume, which may be important in early nutritional intervention.

In conclusion MDR-TB cured subjects exhibit impaired respiratory function and a mildly reduced functional capacity and quality of life, suggesting that a portion of these patients may require a pulmonary rehabilitation approach.

In addition to evaluating nutritional status, the PG-SGA is directly related with survival in terminal cancer patients. The use of this tool in the studied population is of paramount importance to provide individualised and adequate support for these patients.

Context and objective: Palliative care aims at promoting quality of life, symptoms management and alleviating suffering. Nutrition plays an important role in the early identification of these symptoms by the use of tools such as Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). The objective of the study is to describe the nutritional status and the prevalence of symptoms using PG-SGA on palliative care patients. We also correlate PG-SGA with clinical characteristics and functional status. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients followed at the palliative care outpatient clinic from May 2009 through May 2015. On admission, the PG-SGA was filled out and the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) was obtained. Correlation between PG-SGA and KPS was performed by statistical inference and analysis of variance. Results: 104 patients were included in the analysis. Most of the patients were classified as moderately or severely malnourished and had a score greater than or equal to 9. Tumor sites with the highest frequency of severe malnutrition were pulmonary and colorectal. The most prevalent nutritional symptoms were hyporexia, constipation, nausea, pain, and early satiety. The KPS had a statistically significant association with the PG-SGA. Most patients with KPS≤40% were classified as PG-SGA-C (p=0.002) and patients with KPS≥70% were PG-SGA A or B (90%). Patients with a numerical score greater than or equal to 9 had a lower KPS mean (p <0.001). Conclusion: PG-SGA should be used to evaluate the nutritional status of patients in palliative care. We could strongly correlate the PG-SGA with KPS. Such information helps to guide the best intervention on symptom management, considering that the primary goal of palliative care is to promote quality of life.