CONCLUSIONS
♦ Weight loss is related to quality of life, response to treatment and
survival.
Weight loss was shown to be associated with poor QoL, low performance status,
and less probability to respond to cytostatic treatment and poor survival in cancer
patients. The result of the present studies add further support to previous research
showing that weight loss is a risk factor of poor outcomes in cancer patients.
A routine where all patients are weighed at each visit at the out-patient clinic, at
admission on the wards and once a week during their hospital stay, would facilitate
an earlier discovery of patients at risk or already malnourished. Preferably this
should be the routine not only at the cancer clinics; weight loss might be a risk
factor in any patient.