PD838 - PREDICTED VS MEASURED BASAL-METABOLIC-RATE (BMR) IN BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

PD838

PREDICTED VS MEASURED BASAL-METABOLIC-RATE (BMR) IN BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

F. Borroni^1,*, T. VITALI¹, G. BRANDONI¹, A. BENIGNI¹

¹OSPEDALE MACERATA, MACERATA, Italy

Rationale: Weight changes in oncology patients are among the factors that most strongly influence prognosis and treatment continuation, making new assessments essential to understand their causes and to develop new therapeutic strategies. This study examines the actual effectiveness of predictive equations for Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) in an oncologic population diagnosed with breast cancer

Methods: The study evaluated the difference between BMR predicted using the Harris–Benedict equation and BMR measured through indirect calorimetry in a sample of 12 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between October and December 2025, with a mean age of 51.8 years, mean weight of 66.3 kg, and mean BMI of 25.1 kg/m². Statistical analysis was carried out using R for Windows version 4.5.1, with significance set at p<0.05. Statistical significance was assessed using a paired Student’s t-test with α = 0.05

Results: The analysis revealed a significant difference between measured and predicted BMR, with measured values approximately 340 kcal higher and an average deviation of about 25%. The paired t-test confirmed statistical significance (p = 0.004), indicating a systematic underestimation of basal metabolic rate by predictive formulas in early-stage breast cancer patients

Conclusion: The findings show that predictive equations do not accurately reflect the true energy expenditure of oncology patients, whose measured BMR is substantially higher. Indirect calorimetry therefore emerges as a more reliable method for determining energy requirements and guiding truly personalized nutritional planning

Disclosure of Interest: None declared