Cáncer de cabeza y cuello: validación de cuestionario QLQ-H&N35

Abstract

Head and neck cancer affects esthetic and anatomical parameters, causing pain and functional impotence, affecting vital functions such as eating and breathing, hampering the quality of life of patients. EORTCQLQ-C30 questionnaire with its supplementary module QLQ-H & N35 evaluates the quality of life of these patients. To statistically validate the QLQ-H & N35 questionnaire in patients with head and neck cancer. In a cross-sectional study, we studied patients with head and neck cancer who attended a rehabilitation unit. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's α and validity was determined by the diagnostic efficiency of the QLQ-H & N35 scale as compared with the SF-36 quality of life survey. A Receiver Operational Characteristic (ROC) curve was generated. The Cronbach's α global internal consistency of the questionnaire was > 0.70 and its discrimination capacity was 74.2%, which are considered acceptable. These results confirm the statistical validity of the QLQ-H & N35 questionnaire, specifically for patients with head and neck cancer in Chile.