Pilot randomized, controlled, preoperative intervention for nutrition trial in head and neck cancer.

[BACKGROUND] Several prospective studies report improved outcomes with pretreatment nutrition interventions prior to radiation therapy for head and neck cancer (HNC), but none have assessed similar interventions before surgery for HNC.

[METHODS] POINT, a pilot randomized controlled trial, was conducted to evaluate a multimodal nutrition intervention. Patients undergoing primary surgery with free flap reconstruction for HNC were randomly assigned to the control arm or a preoperative multimodal nutrition intervention.

[RESULTS] POINT included 49 patients. Nutrition risk scores did not change significantly for either the intervention or control group. Control patients had a significant decrease in body weight in the preoperative period (p < 0.001). Conversely, weight among intervention patients did not significantly decrease (p = 0.680). The intervention mitigated weight loss in patients with dysphagia (p = 0.001).

[CONCLUSIONS] Preoperative nutrition optimization shows potential to reduce weight loss normally experienced by patients with head and neck cancer prior to surgical extirpation, especially among those with subjective dysphagia.