Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Introduction: Head and neck cancer and its surgical treatment may impair chewing and swallowing, making food intake difficult and increasing the risk of malnutrition. In this context, nutritional therapy is important for postoperative recovery. Materials and methods: This is an integrative literature review with a qualitative and retrospective approach, conducted using the SciELO, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases. The literature search was carried out between October 2025 and July 2026, considering publications from 2015 to 2026 that were freely available in Portuguese, English, or Spanish. Descriptors related to head and neck cancer, nutritional status, and nutritional therapy were combined using the Boolean operators AND and OR. After applying the selection criteria, four studies were included. Results: The studies highlighted the importance of early nutritional assessment and individualized nutritional support, including oral feeding, nutritional supplementation, and enteral nutrition, according to patients’ clinical conditions. One study found that 39.9% of patients undergoing free-flap reconstruction failed to meet 60% of their estimated energy requirements during the first ten postoperative days. Early oral feeding, when clinically safe, was associated with improved energy intake adequacy. Discussion: Insufficient food intake and functional impairments may worsen nutritional deterioration and hinder recovery. However, methodological heterogeneity and the small number of studies limit conclusions regarding the effects of nutritional therapy on complications, length of hospital stay, and quality of life. Conclusion: Individualized and continuous nutritional monitoring is essential for identifying risks, guiding interventions, and monitoring energy and protein intake. Further clinical studies are needed to clarify the effects of different nutritional strategies on the recovery of these patients.
Source: Revista fisio&terapia.
DOI: 10.69849/7s93ny09
Language: English
Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7224617788