Multicentric prospective study of effect of dietary intake on quality of life for patients with end-stage cancers

Abstract

Objective: Impaired dietary intake (DI) contributes to deterioration of quality of life (QOL) in patients with end-stage diseases, including cancer, but the effects of DI on QOL specifically in terminal cancer has not been widely studied. Here, we evaluated the relationship between DI and QOL in patients with end-stage cancers. Methods: We evaluated the energy amount of DI, performance status (PS) and QLQ-C15-PAL score of cancer patients with short prognoses in multicentre survey and analysed the parameters that influence QOL. Results: We recruited 33 patients in this study. In univariate analysis, DI was significantly associated with PS (P=0.002, r=–0.531), physical functioning (P=0.003, r=–0.503), fatigue (P=0.038, r=–0.362), and appetite loss (P=0.004, r=–0.490). Conclusions: Improved DI could contribute to QOL of patients with end-stage cancers.

Keywords

• dietary energy intake
• quality of life
• terminal cancer patients
• palliative care