title: Restrictions of food intake in patients with oral cancer.
abstract: Oral squamous cell carcinoma and its treatment are associated with facial disfigurement and functional inabilities that can lead patients to restrict food intake. The current study examined 80 patients undergoing treatment for the disease in a large Brazilian hospital setting, aiming at the appraisal of covariates with prognostic value for the prevalence of food restriction. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified tumour size (adjusted odds ratio=19.32) and loss of tongue mobility (adjusted OR=5.51), controlled by the higher odds of females (adjusted OR=7.58) and patients living in crowded households (adjusted OR=4.01), as the most important clinical predictors of food restriction. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that an impaired functional status of the stomatognathic system is caused by large tumours and wide resections. The restriction of food intake in patients with oral cancer is multifactorial, and a complex causal pathway links it to the burden of disease. The knowledge of prognostic factors for nutritional depletion in cancer patients can instruct nutritional interventions in the context of planning treatment protocols aimed at improving quality of life.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, 2227 Av Prof Lineu Prestes, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiana Natasha
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Toporcov
authors.forename: José Leopoldo Ferreira
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Antunes
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating; D004522:Educational Status; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution