Meal context and food preferences in cancer patients: results from a French self-report survey

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Table 2 Patient demographic and clinical characteristics (n = 255)

Characteristic	n (%)
Age
<60 years	111 (43.5)
≥60 years	144 (56.5)
Female sex	153 (60.0)
ECOG performance status^a
0	76 (29.8)
1	100 (39.2)
2	72 (28.2)
Side effects on oral intake	244 (95.7)
Ingesta visual analogue scale^b
(0–6)	90 (35.3)
(7 and 8)	48 (18.8)
(8–10)	100 (39.2)
Artificial nutrition	38 (15.8)
Personal and professional status
Live in southern France	143 (56.1)
As a couple	178 (69.8)
Active^c	27 (10.6)
Inactive^d	123 (48.2)
Sick leave	77 (30.2)
Tumor location
Breast	69 (27.1)
Digestive system	56 (22.0)
Head and neck	33 (12.9)
Hematopoietic system	18 (7.1)
Lung	17 (6.7)
Gynecology	17 (6.7)
Others	35 (13.7)
Anticancer treatment
Chemotherapy	182 (71.4)
Radiotherapy	7 (2.7)
Chemotherapy + radiotherapy	26 (10.2)
Surgery	23 (9.0)
Others (e.g., antibiotic therapy)	11 (4.3)
Weight loss (compared with baseline) (%)
<5	121 (47.5)
5–10	59 (23.1)
10–20	53 (20.8)
≥20	13 (5.1)

^aThe Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status refers to functional ability scores (ranged from 0 to 5) to quantify cancer patients general well-being and activities of daily life
^bThe ingesta visual/verbal analogue scale is used for a quick assessment of dietary intake in clinical practice, particularly in patients with weight loss (0 = no ingesta; 10 = usual ingesta). This scale is highly correlated with caloric intake. Patients defined themselves their level of ingestion of food between 0 (nothing) and 10 (as usual)
^cPatients were considered to be active if they had a job
^dPatients were considered to be inactive if they had no job or were retired