An Evaluation of Inflammatory and Nutritional Status of Breast Cancer Outpatients in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria.

Aim: To assess the relationship between nutritional status and inflammatory markers of breast cancer patients, and to identify predictors of malnutrition in these patients.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 45 patients with breast cancer assessed between January and June 2018. Nutritional status was evaluated by objective and subjective methods. The inflammatory markers and inflammation-based scores evaluated were C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), CRP/albumin ratio, and Albumin/CRP ratio.

Results: A total of 45 patients were evaluated. Majority of the patients have high levels of both CRP and ESR (73.3% and 86.7% respectively). More than 70% of the patients were well nourished. There was no significant association between CRP ( = 0.067), ESR ( = 0.094) and SGA (Subjective Global Assessment) categories. Albumin ( < 0.001), Albumin/CRP ratio ( = 0.002), CRP/albumin ratio ( = < 0.001), and GPS ( < 0.001) were significantly associated with SGA categories. On multivariate analysis, albumin ( < 0.001), Albumin/CRP ratio ( = 0.004), CRP/albumin ratio ( = 0.009), GPS ( = 0.01), and ECOG ( = 0.009) were the only markers independently related to malnutrition.

Conclusion: The inflammation-based scores were significantly associated with malnutrition and can be used as biochemical nutritional assessment tools in cancer patients.