Objective To investigate the influence of nutritional therapy on short-term efficacy of gastric cancer patients with malnutrition after radical gastrectomy.

Methods The prospec-tive randomized control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of patients with malnutri-tion after radical resection of gastric cancer who were admitted to the Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University from December 2020 to December 2022 were selected. Based on random number table, all patients were allocated into the nutritional therapy group and the control group. Patients in the nutritional therapy group were given dietary guidance and daily oral nutrition supplements for 90 days after discharge, while patients in the control group were only given the same dietary guidance. Observation indicators: (1) grouping situations of the enrolled patients; (2) follow‑up; (3) comparison of nutritional indicators at 90 days after discharge; (4) comparison of inflammation and physical function indicators at 90 days after discharge; (5) comparison of clinical outcome indicators at 90 days after discharge. Measurement data with normal distribution were expressed as Mean±SD, and independent sample t test was used for comparison between groups. Measurement data with skewed distribution were expressed as M(IQR), and non‑parameter rank sum test was used for comparison between groups. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers or percentages, and chi-square test was used for comparison between groups. Comparison of ordinal data was conducted using the chi-square test.

Results (1) Grouping situations of the enrolled patients. A total of 187 patients were selected for eligibility. There were 131 males and 56 females, aged (65±12)years. Of the 187 patients, there were 95 patients in the nutritional therapy group and 92 patients in the control group, respectively. The gender (male, female), age, cases with cardiovascular complications, cases with respiratory complications, cases with diabetes, surgical methods (partial gastrectomy, total gastrectomy), tumor staging (Ⅰ stage, Ⅱ stage, Ⅲ stage), body mass, body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle index, albumin (Alb), hemoglobin (Hb), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), 6‑minutes walking distance, grip strength were 68, 27, (64±12)years, 21, 4, 7, 59, 36, 17, 27, 51, (59±11)kg, (21.5±3.1)kg/m², (42±7)cm²/m², (39±5)g/L, (112±25)g/L, 2.3(8.0), (456±97)m, (29±8)kg in patients of the nutritional therapy group, versus 63, 29, (66±13)years, 22, 3, 9, 56, 36, 14, 24, 54, (58±11)kg, (21.1±2.9)kg/m², (42±7)cm²/m², (39±4)g/L, (111±26)g/L, 2.2(8.4), (459±98)m, (29±8)kg in patients of the control group, showing no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups (χ²=0.21, t=-1.29, χ²=0.09, 0, 0.35, 0.03, 0.51, t=0.80, 0.85, 0.19, 0.14, 0.16, Z=-0.28, t=-0.17, 0.43, P>0.05). (2) Follow‑up. All 187 patients were followed up for 90 days after surgery. During the follow‑up period, all patients had good compliance and were able to follow the dietary guidance. Five patients in the nutrition therapy group experienced diarrhea and nausea adverse reactions, which were relieved after symptomatic treatment. No adverse reactions were found in the control group. (3) Comparison of nutritional indicators at 90 days after discharge. The body mass, body mass loss, BMI, skeletal muscle index, Alb, Hb were (58±10)kg, 2(6)kg, (21.0±2.9)kg/m², (41±7)cm²/m², (41±4)g/L, (125±18)g/L in patients of the nutritional therapy group, versus (56±10)kg, 3(6)kg, (20.4±2.7)kg/m², (39±7)cm²/m², (41±4)g/L, (121±21)g/L in patients of the control group. There were significant differences in body mass loss and skeletal muscle index between the two groups (Z=-4.70, t=2.39, P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in body mass, BMI, Alb, and Hb (t=1.30, 1.51, 0.80, 1.32, P>0.05). (4) Comparison of inflammation and body function indicators at 90 days after discharge. The NLR, 6‑minutes walking distance, grip strength were 2.1(5.1), (478±99)m, and (33±9)kg in patients of the nutritional therapy group, versus 2.2(5.7), (465±96)m, (30±8)kg in patients of the control group. There was a significant difference in grip strength between the two groups (t=2.08, P<0.05), and there were no significant difference in NLR and 6‑minutes walking distance (Z=-1.28, t=0.91, P>0.05). (5) Comparison of clinical outcome indicators at 90 days after discharge. The quality of life score and readmission rate were (79±14)points, 4.2%(4/95) in patients of the nutritional therapy group, versus (78±16)points, 6.5%(6/92) in patients of the control group, showing no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups (t=0.58, χ²=0.14, P>0.05).

Conclusion Nutritional therapy with daily oral nutrition supplements can improve the short-term nutritional status and body function of patients with malnutrition after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.