Malnutrition Risk Among People Receiving Palliative Radiation Therapy at BC Cancer: A Geographical Analysis.

Purpose: Malnutrition is common among people with cancer and may be experienced disproportionally if living in rural areas. This study characterizes changes in malnutrition risk and assesses whether living rurally impacts malnutrition risk in people receiving palliative radiation therapy at BC Cancer. Methods: This retrospective study utilized malnutrition screening data from BC Cancer's Early Symptom Indicators for Cancer Care Screening Program, 2019-2022. Malnutrition risk was characterized. Distance between patients' residence and nearest BC Cancer centre was determined; differences in malnutrition risk were assessed based on participant regionality (e.g., urban vs rural). Results: Among 802 total Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) screens from 402 people, 32.0% were at moderate risk of malnutrition and 7.5% were at high risk. Of those who completed >1 MST screen (n = 145), 68% experienced a change in their malnutrition risk. People living closest (<5 km) and farthest (>160 km) from the nearest cancer centre had the highest mean MST scores of 2.06 and 2.05, respectively. The greatest difference in MST scores (0.52) was between those who lived <5 km and 5-13.5 km from the centre (p = 0.068). Conclusions: Repeat malnutrition risk screening should be implemented in cancer care. Geographical distance to BC Cancer centres did not impact malnutrition risk but should be further investigated.