Acute Impact of Cancer Treatment on Head and Neck Cancer Patients: FIT4TREATMENT

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Head and neck cancer treatment causes toxicities that compromise health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and treatment efficacy. Exercise training (ET) benefits are reported for many cancer types. The aim of our prospective observational study was to analyse acute treatment’s impact and ET preferences. In the pretreatment phase (n = 18), most patients presented low physical function, were moderately malnourished or at risk of malnutrition, and were willing to participate in an ET program. Patients submitted to radical chemoradiotherapy (n = 7) experienced a significant decline in HRQoL and social functioning, an increase in dysphagia severity, a reduction in handgrip strength, and nutritional status deterioration. An ET program may optimize patients’ physical fitness, achieving more efficacy with less toxicity. ABSTRACT: Head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment’s toxicities impact several health domains. Exercise training (ET) may be beneficial. This prospective observational study (NCT04996147) aimed to analyse the acute impact of HNC curative multimodal treatment on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), nutritional status, physical and cognitive functions, and ET preferences. Eighteen patients with stage III/IV HNC were evaluated at baseline (T0), and 10 patients were evaluated at the end of treatment (T1), 7 of them after radical chemoradiotherapy (rCRT). At T0, the majority referred a good HRQoL on the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire (median score: 70.8), were moderately malnourished or at risk of malnutrition (78%), recognized the benefits of an ET program, and were willing to participate (78%). After rCRT, there was worsening in HRQoL (75 vs. 50 score, p = 0.014), dysphagia severity (Eating Assessment Tool: 7 vs. 31, p = 0.027; Functional Oral Intake Scale: 6 vs. 4, p = 0.041), handgrip strength (dominant: 40.9 vs. 35.8 kgf, p = 0.027; nondominant: 37.2 vs. 33.9 kgf, p = 0.043), and nutritional status (Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment: 7 vs. 18, p = 0.028). HNC patients subjected to radical treatment represent a vulnerable population that might benefit from multimodal supportive care strategies including an ET program.