Changes in Dietary Intake, Body Weight, Nutritional Status, and Metabolic Rate in a Pancreatic Cancer Patient

ABSTRACT

Pancreatic cancer patients often have a poor prognosis and suffer from nutritional problems. Malnutrition is characterized by weight loss and decreased dietary intake, and is common among pancreatic cancer patients. The objective of this report was to describe the changes in dietary intake, body weight, nutritional status, and metabolic rate on a continuum from the time of diagnosis until the end of life in a patient with pancreatic cancer. In summary, the patient's nutritional status gradually declined, accompanied by extreme weight loss and decreased dietary intake. Conversely, resting energy expenditure, measured by indirect calorimetry, increased from 24 kcal/kg/day to 35 kcal/kg/day. Nutritional management during cancer treatment is important but may be challenging in pancreatic cancer patients.