Background: There is a lack of specific nutritional assessment tools for
the pediatric population with hospitalized cancer. The aim was to
evaluate the performance of ANPEDCancer in a pediatric population with
cancer, verifying its ability to detect nutritional inadequacy and
predict the length of hospital stay. Methods: We evaluated 111 pediatric
patients hospitalized in a cancer reference institute in 2019. Patients
were classified as malnourished and well-nourished, according to the
ANPEDCancer, and measures of weight, height, anthropometric indicators,
body composition, laboratory parameters, length of hospital stay, and
death were compared between groups. The ANPEDCancer classification was
compared with the complete nutritional assessment, calculating
sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values, and with prolonged
hospital stay. Results: The prevalence of malnutrition was 12.6%,
nutritional risk was 48.6%, risk of overweight/obesity was 6.3%, and
well-nourished status was 32.4%. According to ANPEDCancer, malnourished
patients showed a higher frequency of inadequacy for all anthropometric
indices, percentage of weight loss, albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP),
and longer hospital stay when compared to well-nourished patients. There
was an association between the tool’s diagnosis and measures of body
composition, CRP, and length of hospital stay. ANPEDCancer validation
with the complete nutritional assessment showed a sensitivity of 81.6%,
specificity of 55%, positive predictive value of 53.4%, and negative
predictive value of 82.5%. The length of hospital stay was almost twice
as long among malnourished patients. Conclusions: ANPEDCancer is
feasible to assess nutritional status and identify the presence of
nutritional risk, allowing targeted assistance in the hospitalized
pediatric cancer patients pediatric.