Oral health-related quality of life among oropharyngeal cancer survivors

Abstract

ObjectivesThe incidence of oropharyngeal cancer continues to rise in the United States, yet studies on the quality of life (QoL) of oropharyngeal cancer patients are limited. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the impact of oral health on the QoL in oropharyngeal cancer survivors. Materials and MethodsOropharyngeal cancer survivors with a confirmed cancer diagnosis from 1996 to 2016 were sampled from the Utah Cancer Registry. The Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire was administrated between January and May of 2019. The impact of oral health on QoL was evaluated using simple linear regression (β-coefficient). ResultsAmong the 260 oropharyngeal cancer survivors, the majority were male (84.6 %) and ≥ 60 years of age at the time of cancer diagnosis (74.0 %). The most frequently reported symptoms of OHIP-14 were discomfort while eating any foods (19.2 %) and worsening sense of taste (16.0 %). The overall OHIP-14 mean score was 13.3. Significantly worse OHIP-14 scores were observed for females (β = 12.85, p = 0.01), chemotherapy recipients (β = 6.60, p = 0.02), and past smokers (β = 5.25, p = 0.04). Better OHIP-14 scores (better oral QoL) were observed in patients with distant cancer stage (β = −7.66, p = 0.01), higher income (β = −2.50, p = 0.05), and older age at cancer diagnosis (β = −0.35, p = 0.03). ConclusionThe oral health-related quality of life scores observed in this pilot study suggest a need for improvement in patient symptom management over time.