Abstract
Objective: To perform a systematic review of the effect of arginine supplementation in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods: The selection of articles was performed by two independent reviewers being reviewed by a third reviewer from July to August 2018. The search was performed in PubMed, CENTRAL and Lilacs databases. Results: A total of 108 articles were found, of which 96 were eliminated because they did not meet our inclusion criteria. Thus, a total of 12 articles were used in this review. Final considerations: We conclude with the present study that arginine supplementation in these patients promoted a decrease in the index of postoperative fistulas in patients who used arginine supplementation in relation to those who used the standard diet in the postoperative period.