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Clinical Nutrition

Dietary counselling and nutritional support in oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with radiotherapy: persistent weight loss during 1-year follow-ups

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 54–59 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The need for dietary counselling and nutritional support in oropharyngeal cancer patients is generally accepted. However, evidence for the effectiveness is sparse. The aim of this study was to describe dietary counselling, nutritional support, body weight and toxicity during and after treatment, and investigate the effect of pre-treatment body mass index (BMI) on survival in oropharyngeal cancer patients.

Subjects/Methods:

A retrospective chart review was made in 276 oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with radiotherapy (RT). End points were dietary consultations, weight loss, toxicity, overall survival and disease-free survival.

Results:

Almost all oropharyngeal cancer patients received dietary counselling (94%) and nutritional support (99%). Dietary counselling decreased sharply shortly after treatment to 38% at 1 year after treatment. Overall weight loss increased during the first year of follow-up and ranged from 3% at start of RT, until 11% at 1 year after RT. Overall survival was significantly longer for patients with a BMI above average (P=0.01). Acute dysphagia (P=0.001), mucositis (P=0.000) and toxicity grade 3 (P=0.002) were significantly more prevalent in patients who had lost 10% or more of their body weight.

Conclusions:

This study showed that patients continue to lose body weight during and until 1 year after treatment, despite nutrition support and frequent dietetic consultation. A BMI above average appears to increase survival time. Future studies, preferably randomized trials, are needed to compare standard dietary counselling with more intensive dietary counselling that consists of earlier and/or prolonged treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    C P Vlooswijk & N M de Roos

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    P H E van Rooij

  3. Department of Dietetics, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    J C Kruize & H A Schuring

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    A Al-Mamgani

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  1. C P Vlooswijk
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Correspondence to N M de Roos.

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Vlooswijk, C., van Rooij, P., Kruize, J. et al. Dietary counselling and nutritional support in oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with radiotherapy: persistent weight loss during 1-year follow-ups. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 54–59 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.102

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