Zinc deficiency in head and neck cancer patients.
BACKGROUND
Although a great deal of attention has been given to protein and calorie malnutrition in patients with head and neck cancer, zinc status has not been assessed properly in such patients in the past.


METHODS
In this study we characterized zinc status by cellular zinc criteria and assessed several measures of protein and calorie malnutrition in patients with head and neck cancer. We determined prognostic nutritional index (PNI) based on serum albumin, serum transferrin, triceps skin fold measures, and delayed hypersensitivity, as proposed by Buzby et al. In this study, the baseline zinc status and PNI of 60 head and neck cancer patients were correlated with the tumor size and overall stage of the disease.


RESULTS
Our results showed that the tumor size and overall stage correlated significantly to zinc status whereas no correlation was seen with PNI, alcohol intake, or smoking in our study subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that zinc status is a better indicator of tumor burden and stage of the disease in head and neck cancer patients than the patients' overall nutritional status.
Doerr
T D
TD
Department of Otolaryngology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Prasad
A S
AS
Marks
S C
SC
Beck
F W
FW
Shamsa
F H
FH
Penny
H S
HS
Mathog
R H
RH
D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011379:Prognosis; D012907:Smoking; D015032:Zinc / Q000172:deficiency*
D015032:Zinc