PD085 - EVOLUTION OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH HEAD AND NECK CANCER BEFORE AND AFTER ONCOLOGICAL TREATMENT

PD085

EVOLUTION OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH HEAD AND NECK CANCER BEFORE AND AFTER ONCOLOGICAL TREATMENT

A. Bielza González¹, T. Hernández Hernández¹, B. Rodríguez Herrera¹, M. L. Carrascal Fabián¹, C. Velasco Gimeno¹, M. Arnoriaga Rodriguez^1,*, I. Bretón Lesmes¹, M. Gómez-Gordo Hernanz¹, C. Serrano Moreno¹, C. Cuerda Compés¹

¹HGUGM, Madrid, Spain

 

Rationale: Head and neck cancer (HNC) carries high malnutrition risk due to tumor location and treatment toxicity (notably radiotherapy). Comprehensive nutritional assessment allows early detection of body composition, functional and dysphagia changes, key to optimizing management.

Objectives

To analyze the evolution of nutritional status in patients with HNC before and after radiotherapy (RT) or combined chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

Methods: Prospective study on HNC patients evaluated in a Nutrition clinic at baseline (Visit 1) and 2 weeks after the end of treatment (Visit 2). Anthropometric data, body composition (bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), muscle/abdominal ultrasound), handgrip strength and the EAT-10® questionnaire were collected. Malnutrition was classified according to GLIM criteria. SPSS 26.0 analyzed data, expressed as median [interquartile range].

Results: 21 patients were recruited, 66.7% male, aged 66 [56-74]. Treatment: CRT (n=11) or RT alone (n=10), for a total of 30 sessions [30-33]. ONS used by 76.2% (25.6% enriched with leucine). Table 1 shows nutritional and morphofunctional changes.

 

It was observed that in patients taking ONS with specific nutrients (≥2.1 kcal/mL, 32g protein/200 ml, with a combination of 60% whey/40/ casein, around 3.4 g leucine per 200 mL), the change in phase angle was smaller (-0.3 vs. -0.4, p=0.043).

Image:

 

Conclusion: Severe malnutrition is highly prevalent in head and neck cancer at diagnosis and worsens during treatment, closely linked to dysphagia-related intake impairment. Morphofunctional assessment is critical to tailor nutritional management to oncological patient needs.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared