Nutritional prehabilitation in head and neck cancer: a systematic review

What this study found

Overall, nutritional prehabilitation evidence in head and neck cancer is limited, and the enriched preoperative formulas identified in this review did not show a clear advantage over standard nutritional formula for preventing weight loss or improving other outcomes. No multimodal prehabilitation trials were identified. The review concludes that more robust, well-designed studies are needed to determine effective components, delivery, and outcomes for this population.

Study & population

Systematic review of nutritional prehabilitation interventions in adults with head and neck cancer undergoing curative treatment, focusing on the preoperative period.

Intervention

Preoperative nutritional prehabilitation was delivered as enriched formulas for 7-10 days before curative treatment.

Key limitation

Evidence was sparse and based on a small number of preoperative trials with short 7-10 day interventions.

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