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Combined-modality treatment of head and neck cancer is becoming more common, driven by the idea that organ(s) preservation should maintain patient appearance and the function of organ(s) involved. Even if treatments have improved, they can still be associated with acute and late adverse effects. The aim of this systematic review was to retrieve current data on how swallowing disorders, dysgeusia, oral mucositis, and xerostomia affect nutritional status, oral intake and weight loss in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients.

A systematic literature search covered four relevant electronic databases from January 2005 to May 2015. Retrieved papers were categorised and evaluated considering their methodological quality. Two independent reviewers reviewed manuscripts and abstracted data using a standardised form. Quality assessment of the included studies was performed using the …