Abstract:

 Objective To assess the nutritional risk status of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery and analyze the effects of that status on chemotherapy. Methods A total of 96 patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery and with Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 （NRS 2002） scores < 3 were selected. After six cycles of chemotherapy， patients were re-evaluated and divided into a group at nutritional risk（NRS 2002≥3） and a group at no nutritional risk（NRS 2002＜3）. The two groups were compared in terms of clinical data， nutritional status，adverse reactions and length of hospitalization. Results Among 96 patients who received 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery，39 had NRS 2002≥3 and the incidence of nutritional risk among these patients was 40.6%. The group at nutritional risk and the group at no risk were similar in terms of menstruation，expression of estrogen receptor/progestin receptor（ER/PR） and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 （cerbB-2）， cell proliferation index （Ki-67），periodization and relative chemotherapy dose intensity （P>0.05）. The two groups were similar in the following indicators（P>0.05），both before and after chemotherapy：hemoglobin，blood albumin，total lymphocyte count，and triceps brachii muscle skin fold thickness. Body mass index changed significantly as a result of chemotherapy in the nutritional risk group （P<0.05），with the body mass index after therapy being similar between the risk group and no-risk group（P<0.05）. The two groups differed significantly in rates of neutropenia，hemoglobin decrease，thrombocytopenia， nausea and vomiting，oral mucositis，abnormal liver function，fatigue and other grade Ⅲ+Ⅳ adverse reactions（P<0.05）. Conclusion Early assessment of nutritional risk during adjuvant chemotherapy after breast cancer may reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions due to chemotherapy.

Key words: Breast neoplasm, Nutritional risk, Chemotherapy, Adverse reaction