Weight variation gain and chemotherapy in women having breast cancer treated in the public health system

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.20143803260268

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of chemotherapy on weight change in women having breast cancer
treated at a public hospital in Goiânia-GO. This is a descriptive retrospective study analyzing the medical records of women
from 34 to 80 years old who met the inclusion criteria. The sample was classified as a convenience one, and met the
demand of the service. A questionnaire was used to obtain personal identification data, social-demographic data, and anthropometric
data as well as general health status. For the 30 study participants body mass index (BMI) was similar before
chemotherapy (27.45 ± 5.42 kg/m2) and after (27.53 ± 5.71 kg/m2) and placed the sample in the overweight category (BMI:
25.00 to 29.99 kg/m2). Most patients were submitted to neoadjuvant treatment, being adriblastine + cyclophosphamide
(AC) associated with carboplatin + paclitaxel (Taxol) the most frequent combination (80.0%). Most of the sample subjects
were overweight or obese before and after chemotherapy. Although there was weight variations due to chemotherapy protocols,
no influence of chemotherapy on the nutritional status of the women in the study was identified.