PP022 - PHASE ANGLE AS A FUNCTIONAL MARKER OF FATIGUE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH CANCER: A THREE-MONTH LONGITUDINAL STUDY

PP022

PHASE ANGLE AS A FUNCTIONAL MARKER OF FATIGUE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH CANCER: A THREE-MONTH LONGITUDINAL STUDY

L. C. Barreto Silva Neto^1,*, R. M. Pessanha¹, M. B. Nascimento Carlini², M. I. P. Barreto³, L. Batista de Azevedo², M. Rabello Laignier⁴, W. Rocha Grippa¹, F. Kenji Haraguchi², L. Vasquez⁵, R. Aparecida Garcia de Lima⁶, L. C. Lopes-Junior⁵

¹Program of Post-Graduation in Public Heath, ²Program of Post-Graduation in Nutrition and Health, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ³School of Medicine of Campos, Campos dos Goytacazes, ⁴Department of Nursing, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Brazil, ⁵Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH), Pan American Health Organization– World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Washington, United States, ⁶College of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

Rationale: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common and debilitating symptom in pediatric oncology and may be associated with treatment-related changes in nutritional status and body composition. Phase angle(PhA), derived from bioelectrical impedance analysis(BIA), reflects cellular integrity and physiological resilience and has been proposed as a biomarker of clinical vulnerability. However, its relationship with CRF in pediatric cancer remains unclear. This study evaluated nutritional status, body composition, and fatigue and examined the association between PhA and CRF during early cancer treatment.

Methods: Prospective longitudinal study including children and adolescents(1–18 years)with cancer or central nervous system tumors treated at a pediatric oncology referral hospital in Brazil. Assessments were conducted at diagnosis(T0), 1 month(T1), and 3 months(T2). Nutritional status was assessed by anthropometry and STRONGkids screening. Body composition and PhA were measured by multifrequency BIA. Fatigue was assessed using the PedsQL Fatigue Scale. Repeated-measures analyses, correlations, and linear mixed models were applied.

Results: Twenty-three patients were included (mean age 5.7±4.88 years;65.2% female). Leukemias and myeloproliferative or myelodysplastic diseases accounted for 52.2% of diagnoses. Significant reductions over time were observed in body mass index(p=0.044), PhA(p=0.013), and lean body mass(p=0.037). General fatigue worsened(p=0.043). PhA correlated with sleep/rest(r=0.752; p<0.001) and total fatigue(r=0.751;p<0.001). In linear mixed models, PhA remained independently associated with total fatigue (β=19.97; p=0.011).

Conclusion: Children undergoing cancer treatment experience early functional decline with reduced lean mass, lower PhA, and worsening fatigue.PhA may serve as a non-invasive biomarker to monitor fatigue and functional status during pediatric cancer therapy.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared