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Introduction: Background: nutritional status might vary according to different underlying illnesses such as cancer or infectious diseases, including COVID-19. In this context, data from developing countries remain scarce. Objectives: the objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status and outcomes of Mexican cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at a tertiary care center. Methods: this was a retrospective study including 121 consecutive cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at the National Cancer Institute, Mexico City, during four months. Results: the most frequent oncological diagnoses were gynecological (19 %) and hematological (17 %). Most patients were overweight (35 %). In the univariate analysis, ≥ 65 years, intubation, hypoalbuminemia, high creatinine, lymphopenia, nutrition-impact symptoms, and ECOG 2-4 were statistically associated with lower survival. The median survival of the cohort was 41 days. Conclusions: to our best knowledge, this is the first study of its kind performed in Mexico, and as other studies from other regions, our results might aid in identifying cancer patients most at risk for severe COVID-19, and could be potentially useful to enhance public health messaging on self-isolation and social distancing among Mexican cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Objective: the exact prevalence of obesity in Mexico is not well known and varies between sources, but more than 30% of Mexico's population are obese. Obesity is associated with several diseases such as metabolic syndrome; the latter, along with cancer, have become public health concerns worldwide, and their association has been widely studied in developed countries. The aim of this study was to identify the overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome and to describe its characteristics among first-time cancer patients at a referral center in Mexico. Methods: a prospective, observational, cohort study of first-time patients of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico in the period of September 2016-2017. We identified 1,165 first-time patients, and 316 patients with known or recently diagnosed metabolic syndrome were included. Results: median age was 55 years old and most were female (81%). The most frequent tumors were breast, gynecological, and hematological. Obesity (class 1-3) and abnormal glucose and/or previous diabetes mellitus diagnosis were mostly observed in patients with skin and soft tissue tumors; dyslipidemia, high triglycerides, and/or low HDL-cholesterol were mostly observed in patients with gastrointestinal tumors. Conclusion: the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among first-time cancer patients was 27%. As obesity and cancer are of public concern in Mexico, the implementation of preventive strategies for metabolic syndrome patients, focusing on the first level of care during early stages in order to reduce the risk of cancer, is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aims of this study were to describe the incidence of obesity and overweight in critically ill cancer patients, and to evaluate the clinical characteristics and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) outcomes of critically ill cancer patients with obesity and overweight.Methods: An observational cohort study. There were no interventions.Results: During the study period, 483 critically ill cancer patients were admitted to ICU, and 59.2% of them (258 patients) had high body mass index (BMI). Comparing the groups of patients with BMI < 25 kg/m2 and ≥ 25 kg/m2, we observed that those with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 were older at the time of admission to the ICU. The global mortality in ICU was of 22.4%. ICU mortality was similar between patients with BMI < 25 kg/m2 and ≥ 25 kg/m2 (21.3% versus 23.0%, p = 0.649). Univariate analysis indicated that the following five factors were associated with ICU death in patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 as the outcome variable of interest: age, sepsis, invasive mechanical ventilation, type 2 diabetes, ≥ two organ failures. Multivariate analysis identified ≥ two organ failures as independent prognostic factor of ICU death.Conclusion: Critically ill cancer patients have a high incidence of high BMI; approximately six of every ten patients admitted to the ICU with a serious condition are overweight or show several degrees of obesity. The ICU mortality of the patients with a body mass index < 25 kg/m2 and ≥ 25 kg/m2 was similar. The independent prognostic factor of ICU death in critically ill patients with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 was the number of organ dysfunctions, especially when two or more organs were affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe metabolic alterations frequently occur in critically ill cancer patients; hypercalcemia, hypocalcemia, hyponatremia, tumor lysis syndrome, metabolic complications of renal failure and lactic acidosis. Cancer patients with metabolic emergencies should be treated in a medical oncology department or an intensive care unit. Most metabolic emergencies can be treated properly when they are identified early. The clinician should consider that the prognosis of critically ill cancer patients depends on their primary disease, comorbidities and organ failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cancer of the oral cavity ranks twelfth worldwide. This type of cancer is usually managed surgically followed by radiotherapy, which may be indicated alone or with chemotherapy; this type of therapies have significant functional side effects on the nutritional status of the patient., Objective: The aim of this work is to know the impact of the different treatments on the nutritional status of patients with cancer of the oral cavity treated at the National Cancer Institute for the period comprised between 2009 and 2011., Material and Methods: A descriptive and retrospective study was carried out. Ninety-nine patients with cancer of the oral cavity were included. The following variables were recorded: gender, age, type of treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy), most important complications secondary to treatment, weight loss, body mass index (BMI) and albumin., Results and Discussion: The prevalence of cancer of the oral cavity was greater in women (58.6%); the mean age was 61.22 years. Complications secondary to the therapy were xerostomia (20%) followed by odynophagia and mucositis (19%), the relationship between weight loss and symptoms was observed in 54% of the patient due to the type of feeding before, during and after the treatment, with a preponderance of the use of mush., Conclusion: Weight loss due to complications of the medical treatment was observed, affecting the nutritional status; therefore continuous monitoring is important in order to improve the success of a multidisciplinary approach., (Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.)