151751-Najiba-Chargi

41 Diagnostics: validation of skeletal muscle mass measurement and neck region without any additional costs or burden for the patient. It may also be used to identify patients with low SMM at high risk of adverse clinical outcomes, who may benefit from treatment adaptation or additional supportive treatment; acknowledging that there is some uncertainty in the identification of patients with low SMM. CONCLUSION A measurement of SMA at the level of C3 is a reliable method for evaluation of SMM in HNC patients and allows for investigating the predictive and prognostic value of low SMM in HNC patients using routinely performed CT imaging of the head and neck area. There is reasonable accuracy in the identification of patients with low SMM based on the estimated lumbar SMI and the actual lumbar SMI. Future research should be aimed at optimizing methods to use routinely performed imaging for body composition analysis. 2