[Heavy alcohol intake, malnutrition and head and neck cancer patients].

UNLABELLED: Head and neck cancer patients are frecuently heavy alcohol drinkers. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of alcohol intake on nutritional status and the impact in prognoses.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with oral and pharyngolaryngeal carcinomas were prospective studied in a control-case study. We studied nutritional status and tumoral recurrence in alcoholic and non-alcoholic patients. We also studied alcohol intake after oncologic treatment in these patients.

RESULTS: 51% of these patients had excesive alcohol intake before oncologic, treatment. The impact of malnutrition was 70% in alcoholic patients vs 30% in non-alcoholic (p < 0.01). Tumoral recurrence was 30% in alcoholic patients vs 13% in non-alcoholic patients (p < 0.05 ). Only 48% of alcoholic patient stopped alcohol intake after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: Excesive alcohol intake in head and neck cancer patients is a predictive malnutrition factor and it is related to poor prognoses. Alcoholic patients with head and neck cancer and malnutrition need an agresive nutritional, medical and psycosocial support after oncologic treatment, in order to reach a better and longer survival.