P562 - DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A NUTRITIONAL RISK SCREENING TOOL FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER PATIENTS IN BRAZIL (NUTRICCAN)

P562

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A NUTRITIONAL RISK SCREENING TOOL FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER PATIENTS IN BRAZIL (NUTRICCAN)

C. F. Marçon¹, C. A. dos Santos ², F. L. C. Oliveira ^1,3,*

¹Postgraduate Program in Nutrition - PPGNUT, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, ²Department of Nutrition and Health, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, ³Discipline of Pediatric Nutrology, Department of Pediatrics, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Rationale: Malnutrition diagnosis in pediatric cancer patients is challenging due to tumor-related interference with anthropometric measures. Existing tools may underidentify patients needing nutritional monitoring. This study aimed to develop and validate a nutritional risk screening tool specific for this population.

Methods: NUTRICCAN was developed and validated through expert consensus. Twelve clinical dietitians applied the tool to pediatric oncology inpatients (0–19 years) at Pediatric Oncology Institute (São Paulo, Brazil) from June to August 2024. Nutritional risk was assessed using NUTRICCAN, STRONGkids, and SCAN. Malnutrition was defined by the presence of at least one of the following: Body Mass Index (BMI)-for-age <–2 SD, Middle Upper Arm Circunference (MUAC) <5th percentile, or low calf circumference (CC). Logistic regression identified independent risk variables. ROC analysis determined cutoff scores. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were compared between tools.

Results: Patients not undergoing intensive treatment showed increased odds of low MUAC (OR=4.51, 95%CI: 1.45–14.03; p=0.009). Low caregiver education and socioeconomic status were also associated with higher malnutrition risk (OR=2.85, 95%CI: 1.07–7.57; p=0.036). Subjective clinical judgment of malnutrition was associated with a fourfold increased risk. NUTRICCAN showed the highest accuracy (AUC=0.701, 95%CI: 0.617–0.785), outperforming STRONGkids and SCAN.

Conclusion: NUTRICCAN effectively stratifies nutritional risk in pediatric cancer patients, incorporating clinical and socioeconomic factors often neglected by other tools. Its use may improve early identification and intervention, particularly in low-resource settings.

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Disclosure of Interest: None declared