Changes in food intake and nutritional status in patients treated with radiation therapy for cancer of the larynx and pharynx.

Nutritional status and food intake were recorded for 28 patients with cancer of the larynx and 13 patients with cancer of the pharynx. All patients were without distant metastases and received radiotherapy with a curative intent. No patients were nutritionally depleted when treatment began. Treatment did not induce changes in nutritional status or food intake in patients with cancer of the larynx. The mean energy intake was 135% of the basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the protein intake was 1 g/kg/day. Inversely, patients with cancer of the pharynx suffered a mean loss of body weight of 5 kg (p less than .01), which was almost equally divided between fat tissue (-2.2 kg) and fat-free cell mass (-2.6 kg). There were only minor or no changes in serum albumin and serum transferrin. Mean energy intake was 121% of BMR, and the mean protein intake was 0.9 g/kg/day. Neither nutritional support during admission nor dietetic instructions managed to preserve the nutritional status in patients with cancer of the pharynx. Therefore, these patients need a more intensified nutritional therapy, such as tube feeding.