Evaluation of Nutritional Status and Anxiety Levels in Patients Applying to the Radiation Oncology Outpatient Clinic during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology Group Study (TROD 12:02)

Ce dossier présente un ensemble d'articles concernant la prise en charge des cancers durant la crise sanitaire liée au COVID-19

Résumé en anglais

Cancer patients often face malnutrition, which negatively affects their response to cancer treatment. This study aims to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nutritional status and anxiety in cancer patients with different types and stages of cancer. This is a cross-sectional cohort study that includes 1,252 patients with varying cancer types from 17 radiation oncology centers. The nutritional risk scores (NRS-2002) and coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) scores of all patients were measured. NRS-2002?≥?3 and CAS ≥ 5 were accepted as values at risk. Of all patients, 15.3% had NRS-2002?≥?3. Breast cancer was the most prevalent cancer type (24.5%) with the lowest risk of nutrition (4.9%, p?<?0.001). Nutritional risk was significantly higher in patients with gastrointestinal cancer, head and neck cancer, and lung cancer (p?<?0.005) and in patients with stage IV disease (p?<?0.001). High anxiety levels (CAS ≥ 5) were significantly related to voluntary avoidance and clinical postponement of hospital visits due to the pandemic (p?<?0.001), while clinical postponement was particularly frequent among patients with NRS-2002?<?3 (p?=?0.0021). Fear and anxiety in cancer patients with COVID-19 cause hesitations in visiting hospitals, leading to disrupted primary and nutritional treatments. Thus, nutritional monitoring and treatment monitoring of cancer patients are crucial during and after radiotherapy.