AUTHOR=Pan Xi , Liu Hong , Feng Guo , Xiao Jie , Wang Meng , Liu Hua , Xie Xueyi , Rong Zhipeng , Wu Jinru , Liu Min 

TITLE=Role of Muscle Mass and Nutritional Assessment Tools in Evaluating the Nutritional Status of Patients With Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.567085

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2021.567085

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> This study was to explore the role and necessity of muscle mass [fat-free mass index (FFMI) and appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI) measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)] in nutritional status evaluation of patients with locally advanced (III, IVa) nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> One hundred and thirty locally advanced NPC patients were recruited. Their nutritional status was assessed by albumin (ALB), body mass index (BMI), Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002), Patient generated-Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), and muscle mass. Consistency test and McNemar test were used to evaluate the consistency of muscle mass with ALB, BMI, NRS 2002, and PG-SGA, and correlation analysis was performed on muscle mass and PG-SGA or BMI.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> 61/130 (46.9%) of the patients had nutritional risks according to NRS 2002, 68/130 (53.1%) of the patients had malnutrition according to PG-SGA assessment. FFMI and ASMI could determine the loss of muscle mass that cannot be detected by albumin (30.2 and 65.6%), BMI (28.0 and 35.3%), NRS 2002 (26.1 and 25.0%), and PG-SGA (18.6 and 55.6%). McNemar test showed that the malnutrition results assessed by FFMI and BMI were inconsistent (<italic>P</italic> &lt;0.001), but further Pearson correlation analysis showed that BMI was positively correlated with FFMI (<italic>rs</italic> = 0.300, <italic>P</italic> = 0.001).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The commonly used nutritional assessment scale/parameters cannot identify the muscle mass loss in patients with locally advanced NPC. Analysis of human body composition is important for nutritional assessment in patients with locally advanced NPC.</p>