Head and neck cancer patients under (chemo-)radiotherapy undergoing nutritional intervention: Results from the prospective randomized HEADNUT-trial

Purpose/objective Patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck undergoing (chemo-)radiotherapy are at high risk of malnutrition. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of prospective, randomized trials investigating the influence of nutritional status on therapy-related toxicity and patients’ outcome. Materials and methods Between October 2018 and October 2020, 61 patients were randomized into an intervention and control group. Questionnaires (MUST, NRS-2002, and Nutriscore), clinical examinations, laboratory analyses, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) were used to assess nutritional status for all patients at the beginning and end of therapy as well as every 2 weeks during therapy. The intervention consisted of an individualized nutritional counseling every 2 weeks during therapy. Results Median baseline BMI for all participants was 23.8 (14.5–37.2) kg/m2 and dropped to 22.9 (16.8–33) kg/m2 after therapy (p Conclusions Malnutrition negatively impacts patients’ outcome under (chemo-)radiotherapy. Baseline phase angle, posttherapeutic FFMI and albumin level are proposed as reliable indicators for overall survival. This study was registered within the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00016862).