Nutritional and immunological investigations in head and neck cancer patients before and after therapy

Long-term surgical complications in the oral cancer patient: a comprehensive review. Part I

OBJECTIVES

Oral and oropharyngeal cancer remains among the top ten most common malignancies in the United States and worldwide. Over the last several decades the approach to treatment of oral cancer has changed very little with regards to primary tumour extirpation while the approach to the "at risk" lymph nodes has evolved significantly. Perhaps the most significant change in the surgical treatment of cancer is the introduction of free flap for reconstruction post resection. Despite these surgical advances, oral cancer ablation, still results in the sacrifice of several functional and aesthetic organs. The aim of this article was to provide a comprehensive review of the potential long-term complications associated with surgical treatment of oral cancer and their management.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The available English language literature relevant to long-term surgical complications associated with surgical treatment of oral cancer was reviewed. The potential common as well as rarer complications that may be encountered and their treatment are summarized.

RESULTS

In total 50 literature sources were obtained and reviewed. The topics covered in the first part of this review series include ablative surgery complications, issues with speech, swallowing and chewing and neurologic dysfunction.

CONCLUSIONS

The early complications associated with oncologic surgery for oral cancer are similar to other surgical procedures. The potential long-term complications however are quite challenging for the oncologic team and the patient who survives oral cancer, primarily due to the highly specialized regional tissues involved in the surgical field.

Nutritional and zinc status of head and neck cancer patients: an interpretive review

In this review, we provide evidence based on our studies, for zinc deficiency and cell mediated immune disorders, and the effects of protein and zinc status on clinical morbidities in patients with head and neck cancer. We investigated subjects with newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, and hypopharynx. Patients with metastatic disease and with severe co-morbidity were excluded. Nutritional assessment included dietary history, body composition, and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) determination. Zinc status was determined by zinc assay in plasma, lymphocytes, and granulocytes. Pretreatment zinc status and nutritional status were correlated with clinical outcomes in 47 patients. Assessment of immune functions included production of TH1 and TH2 cytokines, T cell subpopulations and cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity reaction to common antigens. At baseline approximately 50% of our subjects were zinc-deficient based on cellular zinc criteria and had decreased production of TH1 cytokines but not TH2 cytokines, decreased NK cell lytic activity and decreased proportion of CD4+ CD45RA+ cells in the peripheral blood. The tumor size and overall stage of the disease correlated with baseline zinc status but not with PNI, alcohol intake, or smoking. Zinc deficiency was associated with increased unplanned hospitalizations. The disease-free interval was highest for the group which had both zinc sufficient and nutrition sufficient status. Zinc deficiency and cell mediated immune dysfunctions were frequently present in patients with head and neck cancer when seen initially. Zinc deficiency resulted in an imbalance of TH1 and TH2 functions. Zinc deficiency was associated with increased tumor size, overall stage of the cancer and increased unplanned hospitalizations. These observations have broad implications in the management of patients with head and neck cancer.

Zinc deficiency in head and neck cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Although a great deal of attention has been given to protein and calorie malnutrition in patients with head and neck cancer, zinc status has not been assessed properly in such patients in the past.

METHODS

In this study we characterized zinc status by cellular zinc criteria and assessed several measures of protein and calorie malnutrition in patients with head and neck cancer. We determined prognostic nutritional index (PNI) based on serum albumin, serum transferrin, triceps skin fold measures, and delayed hypersensitivity, as proposed by Buzby et al. In this study, the baseline zinc status and PNI of 60 head and neck cancer patients were correlated with the tumor size and overall stage of the disease.

RESULTS

Our results showed that the tumor size and overall stage correlated significantly to zinc status whereas no correlation was seen with PNI, alcohol intake, or smoking in our study subjects.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that zinc status is a better indicator of tumor burden and stage of the disease in head and neck cancer patients than the patients' overall nutritional status.