Bioelectrical impedance analysis of head and neck cancer patients at presentation

Finnish head and neck cancer (HNC) patients show signs of severe malnutrition already at presentation, measured by bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). BIA may be a practical method to detect malnutrition, analyze body composition, and to identify high-risk patients in this population.

BIA is a validated method for evaluating body composition and detecting malnutrition. Low phase angle (PA) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Vector analysis (BIVA) provides a qualitative measure for hydration and cell mass, independent of body size. This study describes BIA results in Finnish HNC patients at presentation.

Forty-one newly-diagnosed HNC patients at the Helsinki University Hospital were included. BIA measures (resistance, reactance, PA, fat-free mass index [FFMI], and fat mass index [FMI]), body mass index (BMI), and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) were determined.

The majority of patients were men (78%), with a normal average BMI of 25.2. Low FFMI was seen in 44% of women and 28% of men. The PA (median = 4.6; IQ range = 4-5) was lower than the reference values in 76% (n = 31) of cases. In BIVA, only 13 (32%) of the patients were within normal range and 15 (37%) were plotted in the quadrant indicating malnutrition.