P303 - PRE-TREATMENT PREDICTIVE FACTORS FOR ENTERAL NUTRITION IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER PATIENTS: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF 80 CASES

P303

PRE-TREATMENT PREDICTIVE FACTORS FOR ENTERAL NUTRITION IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER PATIENTS: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF 80 CASES

C. Ezzouitina^1,2, F. Z. CHRAA^1,2, M. Farina^1,2, R. Laraichi^1,2, A. Lachgar¹, K. Nouni¹, H. El Kacemi¹, T. Kebdani^1,*, K. Hassouni¹

¹Radiotherapy, National Institute of Oncology, ²Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco

Rationale: Malnutrition is a common complication in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), particularly during radiotherapy (RT). The objective of this prospective study was to identify simple and objective pre-treatment clinical and nutritional parameters that can predict the need for enteral nutrition (EN), either prophylactic or reactive, during radiotherapy.

Methods: 80 patients with HNC treated at the Radiotherapy Department of the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat were prospectively enrolled betwen June and December 2024.

Nutritional and clinical parameters were assessed before the start of RT, including BMI, performance status (PS), tumor stage, pre-treatment weight loss, age, and smoking status.

The primary outcome was the initiation of EN before or during RT. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify significant predictive factors.

Results: Median age was 42 years (range 22–68). The most frequent tumor site was the nasopharynx (43,73%), followed by the larynx (31,27%), oral cavity (25%).

Among the 80 patients, 26 (32.5%) required EN, with 15 (57.7%) receiving it prophylactically before RT. Significant predictors of EN requirement included BMI <18.5, PS ≥2, stage III–IV disease, ≥5% weight loss before RT, and active smoking (>20 cigarettes/day). The presence of multiple risk factors was associated with a ≥75% probability of requiring EN.

Conclusion: Early nutritional assessment is essential in HNC patients undergoing RT. A combination of simple, objective parameters, such as performance status, BMI, tumor stage, and smoking, can help identify patients at high risk of malnutrition, for whom early or prophylactic enteral nutrition should be considered.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared