Pretreatment nutritional status, HPV infection, and tumor infiltrating lymphocyte as prognostic predictors in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after chemotherapy

Background: The survival rate in head and neck cancer varies among the subtypes, yet, the factors associated with survival between studies are still conflicting. This study aimed to investigate the association between pretreatment nutritional status, human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL), and treatment response after chemotherapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in Indonesia. Further, factors associated with overall survival were also assessed. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Data were collected between January 2015 and January 2018. A total of 30 patients with histopathologically proven squamous cell carcinoma head and neck cancer who had received at least three cycles of chemotherapy were included. Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index (BMI). Results: The mean BMI was 21.8 kg/m2 (Standard Deviation 3.98). The underweight patients had a higher risk of progressive disease (OR = 12.1, 95% CI = 1.1-135.6, P = 0.04) compared to patients with higher BMI. Neither HPV infection nor TIL was associated with treatment response and overall survival (P > 0.05). The median survival for the underweight patients was 9 months (95% CI = 3.00-15.00), whereas the median survival for normal and obese patients was 14 months (95% CI = 9.33-18.67). Conclusion: Underweight is associated with a significantly higher risk of progressive disease and tends to have shorter overall survival in patients with HNSCC. Yet, neither HPV infection nor TIL was associated with treatment response and overall survival.