Extracellular-to-body cell mass ratio and subjective global assessment in head-and-neck cancers

The ratio of extracellular mass to body cell mass (ecm/bcm), determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis, has been found to be a potentially useful indicator of nutrition status. Subjective global assessment (sga) is a subjective method of evaluating nutrition status in head-and-neck cancer. The present study was conducted to investigate the association between ecm/bcm and sga in head-and-neck cancer.

Patients were classified as either well-nourished or malnourished by sga. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was conducted on a population of 75 patients with histologically confirmed head-and-neck cancer, and the ecm/bcm was calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were estimated using the nonparametric method to determine an optimal cut-off value of the ecm/bcm.

Compared with malnourished patients, those who were well-nourished had a statistically significantly lower ecm/bcm (1.11 vs. 1.28, p = 0.005). An ecm/bcm cut-off of 1.194 was 76% sensitive and 63% specific in detecting malnutrition.

The ecm/bcm can be an indicator that detects malnutrition in patients with head-and-neck cancer. Further observations are needed to validate the significance of the ecm/bcm and to monitor nutrition interventions.