This is a retrospective study carried out at a tertiary care
cancer center to assess
weight loss in patients of head and
neck cancers (HNCs) during treatment with
chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and study various factors affecting it. Treatment and follow-up records of 77 patients of HNCs were studied and assessed for demographic, disease-specific variables, treatment parameters,
weight loss during CRT, as well as survival at 2 years
after treatment completion. A statistical analysis was conducted to assess the association of study variables with
weight loss. It was also assessed if a correlation existed between
weight loss during treatment and patient survival at 2 years. Of the study patients, 62.3% (48) suffered 5% or more
weight loss during CRT while 23.4% (18) suffered a
weight loss of 10% or more. No particular factor was identified having a statistically significant association with
weight loss. Nutritional impairment is an important factor affecting the morbidity and possibly the mortality of patients of HNCs undergoing CRT. More robust studies are required to identify which factors affect
weight loss during treatment and whether
weight loss can be used as a parameter to prognosticate patients.