Rates of Dysphagia‐Related Diagnoses in Long‐Term Survivors of Head and Neck Cancers

Objective To estimate long‐term prevalence of new dysphagia‐related diagnoses in a large cohort of head and neck cancer survivors. Study Design Retrospective cohort. Setting Population based. Subjects and Methods In total, 1901 adults diagnosed with head and neck cancer between 1997 and 2012 with at least 3 years of follow‐up were compared with 7796 controls matched for age, sex, and birth state. Prevalence of new dysphagia‐related diagnoses and procedures and hazard ratio compared to controls were evaluated in patients 2 to 5 years and 5 years and beyond after diagnosis. Risk factors for the development of these diagnoses were analyzed. Results Prevalence of new diagnosis and hazard ratio compared to controls remained elevated for all diagnoses throughout the time periods investigated. The rate of aspiration pneumonia was 3.13% at 2 to 5 years, increasing to 6.75% at 5 or more years, with hazard ratios of 9.53 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.08‐17.87) and 12.57 (7.17‐22.04), respectively. Rate of gastrostomy tube placement increased from 2.82% to 3.32% with hazard ratio remaining elevated from 51.51 (13.45‐197.33) to 35.2 (7.81‐158.72) over the same time period. The rate of any dysphagia‐related diagnosis or procedure increased from 14.9% to 26% with hazard ratio remaining elevated from 3.32 (2.50‐4.42) to 2.12 (1.63‐2.75). Treatment with radiation therapy and age older than 65 years were associated with increased hazard ratio for dysphagia‐related diagnoses. Conclusion Our data suggest that new dysphagia‐related diagnoses continue to occur at clinically meaningful levels in long‐term head and neck cancer survivors beyond 5 years after diagnosis.