Nutrition Management of Patients With Neoplastic Disease of the Head and Neck Treated With Radiation Therapy

Abstract

Neoplastic lesions of the head and neck are primarily squamous cell carcinomas of the aerodigestive tract mucosa. Approximately 43,000 new cases of head and neck cancer (8.5% of all malignancies) are diagnosed in the United States each year. Tumors, with a male predominance at age 50 to 60 years, generally occur on the surface of the mucosal lining of the oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, larynx, maxillary sinus, salivary glands, and the thyroid gland. Tobacco, alcohol, and the combination of tobacco and alcohol are the principle causative agents of head and neck neoplasms. The use of these carcinogenic agents often has a negative impact on lifestyle, and it is not unusual for significant nutritional deficiencies to exist in this population before diagnosis of head and neck cancer. Definitive and adjuvant cancer treatment modalities are rigorous, and sequelae associated with the therapy often further impair nutritional status and increase morbidity. Auspicious nutrition assessment and management before the initiation of therapy can have a significant impact on the course of treatment and the patient's quality of life.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Beahrs OH , Henson DE , Hutter RVP , et al, eds. Manual for staging of cancer. American Joint Committee on Cancer, 4th ed. 1992.

Shantz SP , Harrison LB , Hong WK Cancer of the head and neck. In: DeVita VT Jr , Hellman S , Rosenberg SA , eds. Cancer: principles and practice of oncology, 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: JB Lippincott Co, 1993;574-672.

Wang CC Clinical radiation oncology. Indications, techniques and results. Littleton, MA: PSG Publishing Co, Inc, 1988.

Myers DE Radiation therapy: an overview. Mt Carmel Medical Center Cancer Update . Pittsburgh, KS: 1995;Spring 4:1-4.

Coia LR , Moylan DJ Therapeutic radiology for the house officer. Baltimore , MD: Waverly Press Inc, 1984.

Bentel GC , Nelson CE , Noell KT Treatment planning and dose calculation in radiation oncology, 4th ed. New York: Pergamon , 1989.

Jackson S. Radiation oncology. St Louis: Warren H. Green, 1985.

Wang CC Radiation therapy for head and neck neoplasms. Indications, techniques and results, 2nd ed. Chicago: Yearbook Medical Publishers Inc, 1990.

Bloch AS , ed. Nutrition management of the cancer patient. Rockville, MD: Aspen Publishers, 1990.

10.

Bloch AS Nutritional management of patients with dysphagia. Oncology 1993;7(11 Suppl):127-37.

11.

Ross BT Cancer's impact on the nutritional status of the patient. In: Bloch AS , ed. Nutrition management of the cancer patient. Rockville, MD: Aspen Publishers, 1990;11-3.

12.

Reilly JJ Jr.

Does nutrition management benefit the head and neck cancer patient?

Oncology 1990;4:105-16.

13.

Lopez MJ , Robinson P. , Madden T. , et al. Nutritional support and prognosis in patients with head and neck cancer. J Surg Oncol 1994;55:33-6.

14.

Nayel H. , el Choneimy E. , el-Haddad S. Impact of nutritional supplementation on treatment delay and morbidity in patients with head and neck tumors treated with irradiation. Nutrition 1992;8:13-8.

15.

Fietkau R. , Iro H. , Sailer D. , et al. Percutaneous endoscopically guided gastrostomy in patients with head and neck cancer. Recent Results Cancer Res 1991;121:269-82.

16.

Saunders JR Jr , Brown MS , Hirata RM , et al. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in patients with head and neck malignancies. Am J Surg 1991;162:381-3.

17.

Gibson S. , Wenig BL Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in the management of head and neck carcinoma . Laryngoscope 1992;102:977-80.

18.

Daly JM , Hearne B. , Dunaj J. , et al. Nutritional rehabilitation in patients with advanced head and neck cancer receiving radiation therapy. Am J Surg 1984;148:514-20.

19.

Copeland ME , Ellis LM Nutritional management in patients with head and neck malignancies . In: Million RR , Cassis JN , eds. Management of head and neck cancer: a multidisciplinary approach, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: JB Lippincott Co, 1994;193-201.

20.

Mor V. , Laliberte L. , Morris JN , et al. The Karnofsky Performance Status Scale. An examination of its reliability and validity in a research setting. Cancer 1984;53:2002-7.