This week's artwork was donated by Dathan, a pediatric cancer patient who received treatment at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia . Background Nutritional support has long been known as an important part of multimodality treatment of head and neck cancer. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery may increase the nutrient requirement and, at the same time, interfere with the patient s ability to eat.
Malnutrition is associated with higher cancer treatment-related morbidity and mortality.
The prospective study from the Netherlands assessed the correlation of nutritional status with long-term outcome of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers. Nutritional assessment prior to surgery included determination of the percentage of weight loss during the 6 months before treatment, the percentage of ideal body weight, serum albumin, total lymphocyte count, nutritional index, and bioelectrical impedance analysis. Minimum follow-up was 3 years. Statistical comparisons tests revealed no difference between men and women in terms of tumor stage and surgical procedure. However, other prognostic factors, such as performance status, co-morbidities, and history of smoking were not addressed.