%0 Journal Article
%T Quality of Life and Functionality of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Are Diminished As a Function of Sarcopenia and Obesity.
%A Martínez-Herrera BE
%A Trujillo-Hernández B
%A Sat-Muñoz D
%A González-Barba F
%A Cruz-Corona E
%A Bayardo-López LH
%A Solórzano-Meléndez A
%A Oñate-Zubdia DA
%A Morán-Galavíz RE
%A Flores-Carlos JD
%A Dávalos-Cobián C
%A Salazar-Páramo M
%A Nava-Zavala AH
%A Gómez-Sánchez E
%A Balderas-Peña LM
%J Ear Nose Throat J
%V 0
%N 0
%D Feb 2022 28
%M 35226551
%F 1.677
%R 10.1177/01455613221076791
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Health-related quality of life (QoL) is a measure that allows us to know the patient's perception of well-being and how it is affected by their disease and treatments. In cancer patients, sarcopenia has been associated with low scores on various instruments used to assess the QoL; however, little information is available on the effects of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity on the QoL of patients with head and neck cancer (H&NC).<BR><B>METHODS: </B>In this cross-sectional study with 71 H&NC patients aged between 40 and 80 years, we describe the scores on the instruments EORTC QLQ C-30 and EORTC QLQ-H&N35 according to the sarcopenia phenotype (NSG, nonsarcopenic group; SG, sarcopenic group; and SOG, sarcopenic obesity group), hand-grip strength, gait speed, total lymphocyte count, albumin, cholesterol and C-reactive protein, and the relationships between these variables.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>The prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity was 48% and 28%, respectively. The QoL analysis showed that NSG had higher scores on the physical functioning scale [NSG 93 (83-100); SG 73 (52-88); SOG 83 (53-93), P = .009] and lower scores on the fatigue scale [NSG 11 (0-22); S 39 (30-67); SOG 44 (14-56); P = .004]. The NSG had a higher hand-grip strength (31.1 kg) than SG (24.1 kg, P = .007) and SOG (26.3 kg, P = .001), and a lower C-reactive protein. The SG and SOG showed no differences between them.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Patients with sarcopenia or sarcopenic obesity have lower physical performance and a higher level of fatigue than nonsarcopenic patients. This loss of function can maintain or worsen sarcopenia due to the patient's self-restraint in physical exertion that encourages an increase in muscle tissue.