Assessment and Improvement of Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

Introduction: We compared the pre and post-treatment quality of life in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients and identified factors that could improve the quality of life in such patients. Methods: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) questionnaire was administered to 84 patients’ pre and post-treatment. Patients who had non-metastatic, measurable, and untreated HNCs were invited, provided that their age was below 80 years. We did not discriminate based on treatment modality, stage of cancer, or co-morbidities. Patients who were mentally incapacitated, with secondary or recurrent HNC, distant metastasis, skin cancer, congenital anomaly of the head and neck, chronic illness, or any previous or current psychiatric illness were excluded from the study. A high mean score on the functional scale and a low score on symptom scale signify a better quality of life. We used the dependent t-test to compare pre and post-treatment scores.Results: We found no statistically significant differences in any variables, except the four symptom scales of diarrhoea, constipation, nausea/vomiting, and financial difficulty. All of these variables had increased mean scores with p values of < 0.001. Also, we found no statistical significance (p = 0.250) when comparing the pre-treatment (59.4 ± 18.3) and post-treatment (61.2 ± 16.2) scores for the global health status.Conclusion: We found no improvement in the quality of life in HNC patients despite intervention. In fact, diarrhoea, constipation, nausea/vomiting, and financial difficulty of these patients worsened post-treatment.

Fadiga em pacientes com câncer de cabeça e pescoço em tratamento radioterápico: estudo prospectivo

“…These findings corroborate those presented in the national and international literature about HNC patients undergoing radiation therapy. This literature shows that the prevalent characteristics are male sex, age above 40 years, low level of education as well as regular use of alcohol and cigarettes 2,7,16 .…”

“…The term head and neck cancer (HNC) refers to a heterogeneous group of neoplasms affecting the upper aerodigestive tract, and has as predominant histological type the squamous cell carcinoma, which comprises about 90% of the cases 2 .…”

Childhood trauma is predictive for clinical staging, alcohol consumption, and emotional symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer

“…1 Emotional symptoms are of particular relevance in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). 1 Emotional symptoms are of particular relevance in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).…”

“…Patients with cancer may experience high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression during and after the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. 1 Emotional symptoms are of particular relevance in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). [2][3][4] The occurrence and treatment of HNCs, including malignant tumors located in the oral cavity, oropharynx, and larynx, may induce facial disfigurement, chewing and swallowing dysfunction, phonatory deficits, pain, and fear of death.…”

Relaxamento com visualização guiada: influência sobre a fadiga e a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde de pacientes com câncer de cabeça e pescoço durante o tratamento radioterápico

“…Esses dados corroboram as evidências nacionais e internacionais da literatura, em relação ao sítio predominante, os estudos apontam para o de orofaringe e cavidade oral e a prevalência do diagnóstico histológico em 90% dos casos, consiste no carcinoma de células escamosas, em estádio avançado (NOGUEIRA et al, 2012;RIGONI et al, 2016;FELLIPU et al, 2016;MAJID et al, 2017). A literatura afirma que a escolha do tratamento do CCP depende de sua localização e estádio (GALBIATTI et al, 2013;DEMIAN et al, 2014;VINES et al, 2017).…”