Score of "eat-ability" as a predictor of malnutrition in patients with gastrointestinal tract cancer: a pilot study.

Introduction: decreased food intake, loss of appetite, and dysphagia are relevant symptoms in patients with gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancer. However, these symptoms have been isolated or indirectly assessed when comprising quality of life questionnaires or risk assessment tools.

Objective: to determine whether a combined assessment of dysphagia, appetite and food intake may be used as a parameter of eat-ability (food capacity) in patients with GIT cancer.