Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Türk Onkoloji Dergisi, cilt.40, sa.1, ss.43-50, 2024 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
OBJECTIVE Head and neck cancer (HNC) is one of the cancer types with the highest prevalence of malnutrition and, therefore, sarcopenia. In this study, we evaluated whether nutritional support can prevent weight loss and sarcopenia among patients who undergo RT/CRT. METHODS A total of 94 head and neck cancer patients who received 5-week RT or CRT with concomitant nutritional support were included in this study. For each patient, before treatment and at the end of the 5th week of treatment, C3-level paravertebral muscles were contoured through planning systems. Patient demograph- ics, PNI, NRI, and NRS-2002 scores, as well as height, weight, and body mass index, were also evaluated. RESULTS At the end of 5 weeks, there was a significant loss in the patients’ weight z-score and BMI (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). The decrease in C3-level paravertebral muscle volume of patients with high PNI values was also observed to be high between the 1st and 5th weeks (p=0.037), and there was no connection between NRI and muscle volume (p=0.301). No correlation was observed between the patients’ weight z-score, BMI, and PNI or NRI values between the 1st and 5th weeks (p>0.066 and p>0.210, respectively). A significant decrease was observed in C3-level paravertebral muscle volume over a 5-week period (p<0.001). CONCLUSION In our study, nutritional intervention did not prevent patients from losing weight and caused decreases in BMI, regardless of head and neck cancer type, stage, and risk score, during the 5-week follow-up. There was no correlation between the nutritional risk score (NRS), the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and muscle volume. Even on occasions when BMI has not changed, occult sarcopenia and muscle loss should not be overlooked. However, more accurate results will be obtained with a longer-term follow-up.