Nutritional status of children during treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Central American Pediatric Hematology Oncology Association (AHOPCA): preliminary data from Guatemala

Preliminary data reveal some degree of nutritional depletion in up to 54% of newly diagnosed children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Guatemala. Deaths due to abandonment of therapy and treatment failure were more common in under-nourished than in well-nourished children when nutritional status was determined by arm anthropometry (mid upper arm circumference and triceps skin fold thickness). Given that these measures are less subject to variation between racial/ethnic groups than is the case with height and weight, it is recommended that arm anthropometry become part of the standard of care for children with cancer in developing countries.