Oral health and quality of life among patients with head and neck cancer or haematological malignancies

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to monitor the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with head and neck cancer or haematological malignancies during a period from before to after medical treatment, and to investigate the relationships between patient experiences of oral symptoms and HRQOL. The sample consisted of 41 consecutive patients. At the start, during and end of radiotherapy or the second/third cycle of chemotherapy, patients rated their experiences of oral symptoms on a 100-mm visual analogue scale and completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ) C30 and the EORTC QLQ H&N35 (head and neck patients). At the end of treatment, an interview was done regarding the perceived influence of oral status on HRQOL. Among patients receiving radiotherapy, HRQOL tended to decrease over time, and oral symptoms increased. Patients who reported that their oral symptoms had influenced their everyday life (56%) reported more severe oral symptoms and lower HRQOL scores at the end of treatment when the oral symptoms were most intense. The findings from correlational analyses support the patients' reports from the interviews. For patients receiving chemotherapy for haematological malignancies, the quality of life did not change during the chemotherapy cycle. They reported very few oral symptoms, and very few reported that oral symptoms had any influence on their HRQOL. However, the correlational data indicate a relation between oral symptoms and HRQOL. Patients who reported more severe oral symptoms also reported lower HRQOL scores. The results demonstrate that oral status is related to HRQOL in these patient groups.

The scored Patient-generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and its association with quality of life in ambulatory patients receiving radiotherapy

“…This study confirms previous observations that malnutrition has a negative impact on QoL (Ovesen et al, 1993;Larsson et al, 1995;Ohrn et al, 2001), although this was not observed by Hammerlid et al (1998). Small et al (2002) suggest that, as well as providing a global assessment of the patient's nutritional status, the scored PG-SGA can also be used to evaluate nutritional QoL.…”

“…The impact of nutrition on QoL has not been well documented, however there are several studies that have observed poorer QoL outcomes in malnourished patients when compared with well-nourished patients (Ovesen et al, 1993;Larsson et al, 1995;Ohrn et al, 2001).…”

A Prospective Investigation of Swallowing, Nutrition, and Patient-rated Functional Impact Following Altered Fractionation Radiotherapy with Concomitant Boost for Oropharyngeal Cancer

“…cooking, socialising, enjoying life/work) for the majority of patients. Similarly, symptoms specific to head and neck cancer, like taste and smell changes, dry mouth, sticky saliva, and coughing were significantly worse than pretreatment scores and have been described previously 63 . At this early stage, Örhn et al 63 found 56% of patients reported that their oral symptoms had been a hindrance to everyday life, reflecting the global swallowing score found in the current AFRT-CB group.…”

Food preferences and aversions in human health and nutrition: how can pigs help the biomedical research?

“…The detrimental consequences of this malnutrition are diverse: poor prognosis, morbidity, decreased quality of life and clinical management of patients, but also anorexia (Bernstein, 1978;Andreyev et al, 1998;Berteretche et al, 2004). Taste changes, which are among the most common chemotherapy-associated side effects (Ravasco, 2005), are not only distressing for patients and impact on their quality of life (Epstein et al, 1999 and2002;Ohrn et al, 2001), but also lead to food aversions and reduced food intake (Ravasco, 2005). …”