Evaluation of nutritional situation of patients who receiving radiotherapy before and after treatment

This study is conducted for evaluating nutritional values before and after RT of patients diagnosed with head and neck cancers with ongoing radiotherapy (RT). Study is conducted in İstanbul University Oncology Institution with 73 voluntarily patients %61.6 of them are male (n:45) and %38.4 of them are female (n:28) between 18 and 65 age interval who have applied to RT unit and diagnosed with Neck and Head Cancer. For determining participants demographic attributes, general health condition, eating habits, anthropometric values and radiotherapy symptoms face to face survey applied by researcher. For determining nutritional status, researcher used Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002) and 3 days food consumption registration form. Survey is applied twice. Survey is applied before and after radiotherapy. Study shows participants consumed more energy, macro and micronutrients before RT rather than after RT and shows us significant data have been found (p<0,05; p<0.01; p<0,001). Both male and female participants anthropometric values are higher before RT and anthropometric values significantly proves this data (p<0.01; p<0,001). Study shows NRS-2002 score of participants before radiotherapy values are significantly (p<0,001) higher and distinguished than NRS-2002 score values after radiotherapy. When male and female participants NRS-2002 scores increased; values of energy, macro and micro nutritional values decreased and decrease proved us significant corelation between NRS-2002 scores and nutritional values. Radiotherapy causes patients to decrease amount of nutritional proportions taken and decrease in amounts cause weight loss and increase in nutritional risks. In order to prevent this situation nutritional and dietary experts have to assist patients in RT process. Similar studies could conduct with bigger populations and different sociodemographic populations.