Abstract
Background and Objectives: It is well known that among all cancers, cancers of the head and neck (HNC) have a major impact on patients’ quality of life. Disfigurement, anxiety and disabling physical and psychological symptoms affect people with HNC to such an extent that the suicide rate in this category of patients is exceeded only by that of patients with pancreatic cancer. The aim of this review was to summarize the published literature describing the severity of body image and quality of life impairment in patients with HNC over time, and to examine the psychosocial and functional associations and interventions implemented to improve body image and quality of life. Materials and Methods: We conducted a literature search from 1 January 2018 to June 2021 that included electronic searches of six major databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, PsycINFO, PsychArticles and Scopus) and review of references of articles screened. Of 620 records, only 9 articles met the eligibility criteria. Results: Numerous studies have been conducted to analyze various psychological variables, but there is still a lack of standardization in the assessment of body image perception (BI) and quality of life, resulting in small-scale testing of interventions with poor results. Conclusions: Expected longitudinal studies describing the flow of body image problems and the mediation and balance factors associated with body image will allow researchers to design methods aimed at limiting body image disorders and thus improving quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer.
Highlights
Most of the major challenges posed by the need for medical care around the world are related to the long-term care of chronic diseases
Of the remaining 488 articles, 426 were excluded after reading titles and abstracts, and of these, 62 were selected based on the eligibility criteria; 53 articles were further excluded, and a total of 9 studies were selected for qualitative synthesis, indicating the scarcity of research in this area
The year 2018 was chosen as the baseline year, as this was when the last paper describing body image perception (BI) and the quality of life of head and neck (HNC) patients was published
Summary
Most of the major challenges posed by the need for medical care around the world are related to the long-term care of chronic diseases. Cancers of the head and neck are a heterogeneous group of cancers, representing the seventh most common cancer in both sexes worldwide in 2018, accounting for 3% of all cancers [2,3,4,5] This type of cancer occurs in cosmetically and functionally critical areas and results in life-altering disfigurement, difficulty swallowing and speech problems. Conclusions: Expected longitudinal studies describing the flow of body image problems and the mediation and balance factors associated with body image will allow researchers to design methods aimed at limiting body image disorders and improving quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
