Predictors of Weight Loss in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer Receiving Radiation or Concurrent Chemoradiation Treated at a Tertiary Cancer Center
2020
Pandit, Prakash | Patil, Roshankumar | Palwe, Vijay | Yasam, Venkata Ramesh | Nagarkar, Rajnish
BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy (RT) has remained the mainstay treatment approach for head and neck cancers. Weight loss due to tumor or tumor‐related factors remains a major health issue among head and neck cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 357 patients were identified for the study. Possible weight‐loss predictors were determined in the patients undergoing RT based on the patient demographics, tumor site, and treatment characteristics. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 52 years, whereas the median age was 51 years (range, 18–87). Two hundred and thirteen (66%) patients had oral cavity cancers, 43 (14%) had oropharyngeal cancer, 26 (8%) had hypopharyngeal cancer, 13 (6%) had larynx cancer, and 19 (6%) had other site involvement. A total of 192 patients received 3‐dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT), whereas 127 patients received intensity modulated radiation therapy–image guided radiation therapy (IMRT‐IGRT), 212 (66%) received concurrent chemotherapy, and 107 (34%) patients did not receive concurrent chemotherapy. A total of 127 (40%) of the patients gained weight during the first week of RT; on the other hand, maximum weight loss among patients was occurred during the third and fourth weeks of RT. CONCLUSION: Analysis by logistic regression determined there is significant weight loss (>10%) in patients receiving radical RT as compared with adjuvant RT. Better outcomes were observed in patients receiving RT by IMRT‐IGRT technique as compared with 3DCRT technique.
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