Prealbumin is a more sensitive marker than albumin to assess the nutritional status in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of this prospective study was to determine the prevalence of malnutrition and to evaluate a more sensitive marker to assess the nutritional status in patients undergoing RT for head and neck cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS The prospective study included 51 (mean age of 57.6 ±11.2 years) patients undergoing RT for head and neck cancer. Malnutrition was defined as weight loss > 5% of baseline. RESULTS Forty-six (90.2%) of 51 patients were male. Malnutrition developed in 33 (64.7%) patients during RT. Mean prealbumin level was significantly lower in patients with malnutrition than in those without malnutrition (17 ±5 g/dl vs. 22 ±5 g/dl, respectively, p = 0.004). On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of other nutrition parameters including total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose (p > 0.05). The percentage of weight loss negatively correlated with prealbumin (r = -0.430, p = 0.002), but not with other nutrition parameters including total protein, albumin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and glucose (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of malnutrition was high in patients with head and neck cancer. Prealbumin was a more sensitive marker than albumin to assess the nutritional status in these patients.