[Nutritional status of patients with cancer of oral cavity]

Cancer of the oral cavity ranks twelfth worldwide. This type of cancer is usually managed surgically followed by radiotherapy, which may be indicated alone or with chemotherapy; this type of therapies have significant functional side effects on the nutritional status of the patient.

The aim of this work is to know the impact of the different treatments on the nutritional status of patients with cancer of the oral cavity treated at the National Cancer Institute for the period comprised between 2009 and 2011.

A descriptive and retrospective study was carried out. Ninety-nine patients with cancer of the oral cavity were included. The following variables were recorded: gender, age, type of treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy), most important complications secondary to treatment, weight loss, body mass index (BMI) and albumin.

The prevalence of cancer of the oral cavity was greater in women (58.6%); the mean age was 61.22 years. Complications secondary to the therapy were xerostomia (20%) followed by odynophagia and mucositis (19%), the relationship between weight loss and symptoms was observed in 54% of the patient due to the type of feeding before, during and after the treatment, with a preponderance of the use of mush.

Weight loss due to complications of the medical treatment was observed, affecting the nutritional status; therefore continuous monitoring is important in order to improve the success of a multidisciplinary approach.