Extracellular-to-body cell mass ratio and subjective global assessment in head-and-neck cancers

Background The ratio of extracellular mass to body cell mass (ECM/BCM), determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis, has been found to be a potentially useful indicator of nutrition status. Subjective global assessment (SGA) is a subjective method of evaluating nutrition status in head-and-neck cancer. The present study was conducted to investigate the association between ECM/BCM and SGA in head-and-neck cancer. Methods Patients were classified as either well-nourished or malnourished by SGA. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was conducted on a population of 75 patients with histologically confirmed head-and-neck cancer, and the ECM/BCM was calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were estimated using the nonparametric method to determine an optimal cut-off value of the ECM/BCM. Results Compared with malnourished patients, those who were well-nourished had a statistically significantly lower ECM/BCM (1.11 vs. 1.28, p = 0.005). An ECM/BCM cut-off of 1.194 was 76% sensitive and 63% specific in detecting malnutrition. Conclusions The ECM/BCM can be an indicator that detects malnutrition in patients with head-and-neck cancer. Further observations are needed to validate the significance of the ECM/BCM and to monitor nutrition interventions.