Quality of life following surgery for head and neck cancer: Evidence from ACRIN 6685

Abstract

BackgroundThis study examined the trajectory of health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) for patients with clinical stage N0 HNSCC enrolled in ACRIN 6685 who underwent elective neck dissection(s).MethodsHRQoL of 230 patients in the ACRIN 6685 trial was measured prospectively up to 2 years following surgery using the University of Washington Quality of Life instrument.ResultsGeneral Health Within the Last 7 Days did not differ significantly from baseline at any follow‐up. General Health Relative to Before Cancer fell significantly by 5.8 points following surgery (p = 0.048), and then returned to 3.0 points above baseline at 1 year (p = 0.65). For Overall Quality of Life, HRQoL fell significantly by 4.3 points following surgery (p = 0.031) and then returned to levels not significantly different from baseline.ConclusionsPatients with stage N0 HNSCC experience significant declines in HRQoL immediately following surgery, including neck dissection, which recovers to near or better than baseline within 1–2 years.