Impact of weight loss on treatment interruption and unplanned hospital admission in head and neck cancer patients undergoing curative (chemo)-radiotherapy in Hong Kong.

Purpose: Malnutrition is highly prevalent in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, with weight loss being one of the major nutritional indicators. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of weight loss on treatment interruptions and unplanned hospital admissions in HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) with or without chemotherapy.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, consecutive HNC patients who started RT between January 2011 and December 2019 were included.