Nutritional Status in Children With ALL in Guatemala

Overview

This study proposes to investigate the association of nutritional status of a children assessed by body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold thickness (TSFT), and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC), with body composition, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), in 60 children undergoing treatment of ALL at Unidad Nacional de Oncologia Pediatrica (UNOP), in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The study also aims to establish normative values of body composition in children residing in an LMIC by examining 160 healthy siblings of children under treatment, and to measure habitual physical activity in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at diagnosis and during therapy.

The majority of children with cancer live in low and middle income countries (LMICs) where malnutrition, both under and over nutrition, is highly prevalent. Children who are malnourished while undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are shown to have chances of reduced survival. Children, who are malnourished at diagnosis, if the nutritional status is improved over the course of 6 months during the ALL treatment, have chances of similar survival as the ones who were nourished throughout. Therefore, it is important to study nutritional status in children with ALL, to understand and implement better treatment outcomes. Height and weight alone are considered incomprehensive in classifying nutritional status, especially in poorly nourished children. A more advanced nutritional assessment that distinguishes between fat and muscle mass is required. Treatment for ALL results in an increase in weight over the course of therapy with preferential gain in fat mass (FM) compared to fat free mass (FFM). Hence, there is a pressing need to advance nutritional assessment and implementation in pediatric oncology that includes monitoring of FM and FFM.

Conditions