Assessment of Nutritional Status and Change in Lean Body Weight in Head & Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical Research Professionals - Year 2017, Vol 3, Issue 3
Abstract
Introduction: The incidence of malnutrition among cancer patients has been estimated at between 40 and 80%. Malnutrition is a common problem in patients with Head and Neck Cancer. During treatment (Radiotherapy alone or combined with chemotherapy or surgery) malnutrition may develop or aggravate lean body weight due to treatment toxicity in Head and Neck Cancer. Aim: To assess the nutritional status and change in Lean Body Weight (LBW) in patients with Head & Neck Cancer undergoing Radiotherapy. Materials & Methods: Nutritional status and change in LBW of 47 Head and Neck Cancer patients were assessed using PG-SGA tool and Durnin & Womersley equation, respectively, in week before and after Radiotherapy. Results: Mean age was 50.68 years. Scored PG-SGA identified 78.72 % (37/47) of patients as requiring active (20/47) or critical (17/47) nutritional intervention. After treatment 97.4 % (46/47) patients were identified as having need for active or critical nutritional intervention. Mean PG-SGA Score before and after the treatment was 7.28 vs 11.02 (p=0.0001), respectively, indicating statistically significantly worsening of nutritional status. During treatment, total body weight (- 4.32±4.13kgs; p= 0.0001) and LBW (- 2.03 ±2.34kgs; p= 0.00012) significantly declined with LBW representing 47% of total weight loss. There was a trend for higher LBW loss in moderately or severely malnourished patients. Decline in LBW didn’t reach statistical significance (p = 0.34) across the SGA classes (A, B & C) indicating global decline in LBW irrespective of pretreatment SGA classification. Conclusion: Patients with Head & Neck Cancer fail to maintain nutrition status during treatment and results in significant decline in body weight & LBW. Chemo-radiation in such patients should combine nutrition with activities to support lean tissue anabolism.
Authors and Affiliations
Kailash Mittal, Jitendra Pratap Singh Chauhan, Piyush Kumar, Nishu Bala
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP548093
- DOI 10.21276/ijmrp.2017.3.3.048
- Views 70
- Downloads 0
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