[Nutritional status in head and neck cancer patients: the impact on the prognoses].
Malnutrition is reported to affect 30-50% of all patients with head and neck cancer. The impact of malnutrition on surgical outcome is not clearly understood. The purpose of this study is to determine if nutritional status is related to postoperative complications (pharyngostoma) or tumor recurrence.


METHODS
Fifty patients with T2-4 head and neck carcinomas underwent surgery were studied prospectively. Nutritional status was related to postoperative complications and 2-year survival.


RESULTS
Twenty-seven patients present malnutrition (54%). We had 15 patients with pharyngostoma and 11 tumor recurrences. We did not find any correlation between the pharyngostoma and malnutrition, but we we found correlation between malnutrition and tumor recurrence (p < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
Malnutrition has negative impact on outcome of patients with head and neck carcinomas.
Martín Villares
C
C
Servicio de ORL, Hospital del Bierzo, Ponferrada, León, España.
San Román Carbajo
J
J
Fernández Pello
M E
ME
Tapia Risueño
M
M
Domínguez Calvo
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010613:Pharyngostomy; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011379:Prognosis; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology