Assessment of Nutritional Status in Adult Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: The Role of Screening Tools, Composite Indices and Physical Function – A Narrative Review

The aim of this study was to organize and critically evaluate the tools to assess nutritional status in adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with particular emphasis on screening instruments, biochemical and composite indices, body composition analysis and physical function. This paper is a narrative review. The literature search was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar and covered publications from 2015 to 2025. Eighteen original and review papers were included, predominantly involving adults with AML and, in selected cases, mixed populations if the results were applicable to patients treated according to AML-related regimens. The available evidence shows that nutritional impairment is common already at diagnosis and tends to worsen during remission-induction chemotherapy. PG-SGA and NRS-2002 are useful for identifying patients who require nutritional intervention, but they should not be interpreted separately from body composition and laboratory assessment. Body mass index alone appears insufficient, whereas albumin and albumin-based composite indices incorporating inflammatory burden, such as sCONUT, NRI, GNRI and CAR, show greater prognostic utility. In older adults and in patients evaluated before allo-HSCT, physical function often seems more closely related to outcomes than the MNA score itself. A multimodal approach combining nutritional screening, body composition assessment and evaluation of physical function appears to be the most justified clinical strategy. Future studies should focus on interventions integrating nutritional support with rehabilitation and prehabilitation.