Objective To describe the characteristics of
dysphagia in
patients with
head and neck cancer during
radiotherapy,and analyze the cause of
dysphagia and the relationship between
dysphagia and weight change.
Methods Patients with
head and neck cancer treated with
radiotherapy in
Beijing Cancer Hospital from November 2017 to June 2018 were recruited.The M.D.Anderson
Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) was used to assess the
dysphagia of
patients before (T1),during (T2) and at the end (T3) of the
radiotherapy.Meanwhile,the weight,
dietary intake and
radiation adverse effects were investigated.Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the impact factors of
dysphagia and the relationship among
dysphagia,
dietary intake and weight change.Results Ninety-six
patients were completely investigated and the
incidence of
dysphagia were 6.3% (6/ 96),80.2% (77/96) and 85.4% (82/96) in T1,T2 and T3.With the progress of
radiotherapy,the total score and the scores of 4 dimensions of MDADI dropped and the
dietary intake declined.The average
weight loss was (5.09±3.31) kg,and 76.1% of the
patients had
weight loss over 5% at the end of
radiotherapy.The occurrence of
dysphagia was associated with the
radiotherapy-related oral and laryngeal
mucositis and the
weight loss was closely associated with the site of
radiation,
dysphagia,and
dietary intake decline.Conclusions The
dysphagia of
patients with
head and neck cancer is affected by
radiation adverse effects,and is most severe at the end of
radiotherapy.
Dysphagia might result in
dietary intake decline and
weight loss.Clinicians should pay close
attention to the
swallowing function of the
patients and take
measures earlier accordingly.