Adaptive Treatment Planning in Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer May Predict Malnutrition and Prognosis

Strategic Insights -

Patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer may experience malnutrition and changes in tumor volume or weight loss, according to a new study. Researchers at Marmara University School of Medicine in Turkey analyzed 30 patients who received radiotherapy between September 2018 and September 2021. The study found that adaptive treatment planning images may help monitor radiotherapy-induced malnutrition and predict prognosis in head and neck cancer patients.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study aimed to investigate the role of treatment planning images in monitoring radiotherapy-induced malnutrition and predicting prognosis in head and neck cancer patients.
  • Thirty patients who received radiotherapy between September 2018 and September 2021 were included in the analysis.
  • Patients underwent weekly nutritional interventions, including nutritional and anthropometric changes in weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and lean body mass (LBM).
  • Skeletal muscle volume, called cervical muscle gauge (CMG), was measured from simulation images of beginning and adaptive radiotherapy.
  • The median weight loss percentage was 4.8% (0 to 24%), and the mean percentage of weight changes, LBM, and CMG were 6.33%, 3.47%, and 9.28%, respectively.
  • Results indicated that BMI (p = 0.006), weight (p = 0.002), and CMG changes were significant predictors of progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival.
  • Cervical muscle volume measurement may help predict malnutrition in patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Statistics:

  • 30 patients were included in the analysis.
  • The median weight loss percentage was 4.8% (0 to 24%).
  • The mean percentage of weight changes, LBM, and CMG were 6.33%, 3.47%, and 9.28%, respectively.
  • 0.006 (p-value) indicated that BMI changes were significant predictors of PFS.
  • 0.002 (p-value) indicated that weight changes were significant predictors of PFS and OS.
  • 9.28% (mean) CMG changes were significant predictors of OS.

Sources:

  • "The role of radiotherapy planning images in monitoring malnutrition and predicting prognosis in head and neck cancer patients: a pilot study". Radiation Oncology, 2025, 20(1):1-10.
  • Marmara University School of Medicine
  • BMC (publisher of Radiation Oncology)