Pre-op nutritional status in colorectal cancer surgical patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pre-operative nutritional status and postoperative outcomes in adults undergoing colorectal surgery for cancer
IRAS ID
144166
Contact name
Martin Cartwright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City University
Research summary
Is the nutritional status of adults with colorectal cancer before surgery associated with post-operative outcome?
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in England, affecting 40,695 people in 2010. Surgery for the removal of the tumour is carried out in 80% of patients. Malnutrition is common in cancer due to may reasons(depression, pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea, loss of appetite). The prevalence of malnutrition in colorectal cancer patients has previously been identified as 20-33%.
The link between malnutrition and poor surgical outcome has been long established. Patients who are malnourished are more likely to have a longer length of hospital stay and have more post-operative complications. However previous studies have not looked at patients with colorectal cancer undergoing surgery on the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway. In addition, the nutritional measurements used in previous studies are often not comprehensive.
The study will involve taking a number of non-invasive nutritional measurements before surgery (e.g. weight, body mass index, weight history, mid arm muscle circumference, grip strength, sit to stand test, nutritional intake,serum vitamin and trace elements). Post-operative data will be collected (e.g. length of hospital stay and complication rate), with the aim to find an association between pre-operative nutritional measurements and post-operative complication rate and length of stay. In addition the nutritional status of a patient before and after surgery will be compared and examined.
All adult patients diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer requiring surgery at St. Mark’s Hospital will be considered for participation for the study. The study duration will be no longer than 6 months.
The study is part of a Master’s degree which is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0348
Date of REC Opinion
2 Apr 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion