Consensus and clinical recommendations for nutritional intervention for head and neck cancer patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy in Taiwan

Mei-Chun Lin; Pei-Wei Shueng; Wei-Kuo Chang; Peter Mu-Hsin Chang; Hsin-Chun Feng; Muh-Hwa Yang; Pei-Jen Lou

doi:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2018.03.016

Consensus and clinical recommendations for nutritional intervention for head and neck cancer patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy in Taiwan

Oral Oncol. 2018 Jun:81:16-21. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2018.03.016. Epub 2018 Apr 10.

Authors

Mei-Chun Lin¹, Pei-Wei Shueng², Wei-Kuo Chang³, Peter Mu-Hsin Chang⁴, Hsin-Chun Feng⁵, Muh-Hwa Yang⁴, Pei-Jen Lou⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu City, Taiwan.
² Division of Radiation Oncology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: pjlou@ntu.edu.tw.

PMID: 29884409
DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2018.03.016

Abstract

Because of the anatomical location, patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) frequently experience dysphagia and malnutrition at the time of diagnosis and these conditions are often exacerbated after chemoradiotherapy. There is an emerging medical need to establish a consensus on nutritional intervention for these patients. A panel of 30 senior physicians and experts from multidisciplinary teams drafted clinical recommendations to improve the management of nutritional interventions in Taiwan and to provide updated treatment strategy recommendations in hope of improving the nutritional status of patients with HNC. This clinical review describes the resulting consensus document, including the impact of malnutrition on clinical outcomes, the role of prophylactic tube feeding, the choice of tube feeding, and the benefit of oral nutritional supplements in patients with HNC undergoing chemoradiotherapy. The outcomes of this review will support clinicians in their efforts to improve the nutritional status of patients with HNC.

Keywords: Chemoradiotherapy; Consensus; Head and neck cancer; Level of evidence; Nutrition.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Chemoradiotherapy*
Consensus*
Enteral Nutrition
Head and Neck Neoplasms / diet therapy*
Head and Neck Neoplasms / therapy*
Humans
Taiwan