Assessment of Quality of Life in Radically Treated Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Setting in Manipal, Udupi

Abstract

Objectives: 1) To measure the different domains of quality of life in post-treatment head and neck cancer patients and 2) To find associations between the type of treatment and the quality of life in the patients. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2015 among 144 radically treated head and neck cancer patients above the age of 18 years using EORTC QLQ-30 and QLQ H&N-35 Questionnaires. Data analysis: Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 15. Major results: The main areas affecting the QOL of the patients were Social, Cognitive and Emotional Functioning, financial problems, fatigue, dyspnea, appetite loss, sexual problems, trouble with social contact, and symptoms of dry mouth, problem related to senses, difficulty in mouth opening and speech problems. Three-fourth of the patients used analgesic medication for pain control. Early-stage tumors showed significantly better scores on pain, speech, social eating, teeth problems and dryness of mouth. The groups with combined modalities outscored the Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy groups on almost all scales. Conclusion: Head and Neck cancer (HNC) has a significant burden of symptoms at presentation. There have not been many studies that have measured the long term QoL outcomes in HNC survivors in developing countries. A simple and explicit questionnaire, as used in this study could help in quickly screening for the symptom burden and QoL in these patients and this would definitely help in delivery of better symptom directed therapies and achieving the holy goal of palliative care.