Introduction: Malnutrition among cancer patients is associated with a higher risk of
gastrointestinal toxicity which develops during treatment and may affect quality of life (QOL).
Thus, this cross-sectional study aimed to determine the nutritional status and QOL of 30
oncology patients (mean age 50.0+10.7 years) prior to pelvic radiotherapy at Hospital Sultan
Ismail, Johor Bahru.
Methods: Patients were assessed for anthropometry measurements,
24-h diet recall and nutritional status using Scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global
Assessment (PG-SGA) questionnaire while the European Organization for Research and
Treatment of Cancer Care Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) was used to
assess QOL two weeks prior to the initiation of pelvic radiotherapy.
Results: Mean Body
Mass Index (BMI) of patients was 23.3+3.3kg/m2
and 33% of patients experienced weight
loss prior to pelvic radiotherapy. The PG-SGA rating indicated that 63% of patients were at
Stage A (well-nourished) and 37% were in Stage B (moderate malnutrition). The PG-SGA
numerical score was a significant predictor of QOL, after adjusting for socio-demographic
factors (R2
=0.861, p