Could nutritional parameters predict 90-day mortality in patients with head and neck cancer?

Abstract

Background: Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) are often at nutritional risk or even malnutrition at the time of diagnosis and it affects directly unfavorable clinical outcomes and poor prognosis. Among the methods used to assess Nutritional Status (NS), there are some tools widely used in clinical practice such as Body Mass Index (BMI), Weight Loss (% WL), Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI). The aim of study was to evaluate the 90-day mortality of HNSCC patients with distinct nutritional parameters. Methods: Retrospective review of the electronic clinical records (ECR) cohort study. PG - SGA records, weight, height, BMI and %WL and blood tests were included. PNI was calculated as 10 × baseline serum albumin (g/dL) + 0.005 × baseline absolute lymphocyte counts (cells/mm3). Results: The prevalence of overall 90-day mortality was 18.5%. BMI as continuous variable, PG SGA scores and lower levels of PNI (≤35,9) were associated with 90-day mortality. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that nutritional assessment tools used in clinical practice, such as PG-SGA and PNI, should be considered not only as an evaluation of nutritional status, but also as a predictor of 90-day mortality in this group of patients.