Quality of life as predictor of weight loss in patients with head and neck cancer

Abstract

Patients with head and neck cancer who are at risk of severe weight loss developing during treatment may be detected with the aid of HRQL questionnaires at diagnosis.

Predictors of weight loss during radiotherapy in patients with stage I or II head and neck cancer

“…Lastly, multivariate analyses are not always performed. 8,21,23 To our knowledge, our study is 1 of the largest cohort studies conducted among early stage HN cancer patients. The characteristics of the patients and of their disease were systematically and prospectively collected using validated, structured questionnaires.…”

“…At the time of diagnosis, critical weight loss is more frequently observed in patients with cancer of the hypopharynx, oropharynx/ oral cavity, or supraglottic larynx. 6,8,23,44 In the literature, the early stages (I or II) are generally compared with advanced stages (III or IV), and the comparisons show that advanced stage HN cancer patients are more likely to experience weight loss and consequently to receive enteral nutrition. 19 Our study found that differences in weight loss are observed during the early stages.…”

“…6,8,19 Several studies suggest that global health status, diet, and quality of life can influence the ability of cancer patients to maintain adequate nutritional intake during their cancer treatments. 14,[20][21][22][23] To prevent therapy-associated weight loss and interruptions of RT, clinical guidelines recommend the use of intensive dietary counseling and oral nutritional supplements. 24 The modalities of nutritional support in HN cancer patients are still debated with regard to both the enteral feeding methods and what the supplemental formula should contain.…”

A multicentre study to implement nutritional risk screening and evaluate clinical outcome and quality of life in patients with cancer

“…The prevalence of nutritional risk in hospitalized patients with cancer in our study was higher than that reported in those studies in European and American hospitals by using the same parameters. 3,6,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] It indicates that compared with cancer patients from European and American countries, there is a higher proportion of Chinese cancer patients at nutritional risk and with nutritional deficiencies at admission and during hospitalization. The possible reasons for this difference include: (1) compared with cancer patients in Western countries, the Chinese patients has relatively lower body weight and poor nutritional status at admission, and (2) relatively fewer doctors in Chinese hospitals can identify cancer patients at nutritional risk early in order to plan Nutritional risk, clinical outcome and quality of life in cancer patients K Yu et al the best possible intervention, which make the patients' nutritional status tended to worsen during the hospitalization.…”

New perspective for nutritional support of cancer patients: Enteral/parenteral nutrition

“…Similarly, food intake -one of the major determinants of nutritional status -appears to influence QoL, as a correlation between them exists (21). Moreover, a low QoL is associated with nutrition-related symptoms and weight loss (22).…”