A new method of food intake quantification: application to the care of cancer patients

Although it is commonly accepted that advanced cancer patients often suffer from malnutrition, there is little information available to quantify the extent of undernourishment and variations in food intake during the last weeks of life. To assess these factors, we developed a new method for measuring daily food intake, based on a self-descriptive record on which the patient chooses one of five different levels of food intake defined with a key word. This record was combined with a visual analogue scale and then administered to 100 healthy persons to assess if each key word can be attributed a numerical figure. Following this, the measurement method was applied to 75 cancer patients in the last weeks of life. The data confirmed and quantified the patients' undernutrition, and demonstrated a sharp and statistically significant increase in food intake when patients enter a palliative home care program. During the last 4 wk of life, the decrease in food intake became steady and irreversible.