Nutritional condition in oral squamous cell carcinoma patient – an observation study

Background Cancer related malnutrition is an often-disregarded problem with a lack of knowledge and standards concerning diagnosis and therapy. Especially patients with oral squamous cell cancer can suffer not only from metabolic factors but also from aggravated oral food intake. This study examines the problem of malnutrition in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) before diagnosis and under treatment. Methods The nutritional status of 30 patients with OSCC was registered before and after surgical treatment, with a time interval of 16 weeks. The methods applied were body mass index (BMI), subjective global assessment (SGA) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The control group consisted of 30 patients planned for orthognathic surgery. Equal for both groups were comparable nutrition via nasogastric tube. Data were analysed and tested for significance with a level of p = 0.05. Results The control group showed a moderate malnutrition status during hospital stay according to SGA. This improved in the course of therapy to a good status in nearly all cases. In contrast, only 6% of OSCC patients start with a good nutritional status, but this group enhances nearly up to 50% during therapy, although two patients ended up with severe malnutrition. The cellular share of the control group increased over time from 46.3 to 49.7%, while body fat decreased constantly from 20.8 to 18.0 kg (p < 0.05). Conclusion Malnutrition is a relevant problem in patients with OSCC due to the high prevalence in this population, which was confirmed in these data. Appropriate diagnostic tools and an adapted treatment concept in terms of application form and ingredients as well as supplements should be an integral part of the treatment concept for these patients.