Abstract
Background: As head and neck cancer (HNC) affects regions directly related to the digestive tract, it is consistently associated with nutritional impact symptoms (NISs), which further reduce food intake and affect nutritional status. Early identification of patients with NIS can assist therapy. Method: This is a cross-sectional study with HNC patients from a cancer reference hospital. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, and anthropometric data were collected, along with information on nutritional risk screening and screening for NIS. Results: Cancer in the larynx (p=0.031) showed a 6.67 lower NIS score than that in the oral cavity. Ex-smokers (p=0.019) showed a 5.87 lower NIS score and nutritional risk (p=0.009) increased NIS scores by 6.15 points. Conclusion: Tumor location, smoking, and the presence of nutritional risk influence the quantity and severity of NIS.