Premium
Acute and chronic changes in swallowing and quality of life following intraarterial chemoradiation for organ preservation in patients with advanced head and neck cancer
Author(s) -
Murry Thomas,
Madasu Ram,
Martin Amy,
Robbins K. Thomas
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0347(199801)20:1<31::aid-hed6>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - swallowing , medicine , head and neck cancer , head and neck , quality of life (healthcare) , cancer , surgery , nursing
Background Health‐related quality of life (QOL) provides a measure of the patient's perception of his life after treatment. This study was undertaken to assess changes in QOL and swallowing in patients undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CR) for head and neck cancer. The assessment tools consisted of the Head and Neck Radiotherapy Questionnaire (HNRQ) and a swallowing questionnaire (SQ). Methods The HNRQ and SQ were administered to a group of CR patients prior to treatment ( n = 58), after the last week of treatment ( n = 37), and 6 months after treatment ( n = 27). Weight change was monitored in treatment subjects. Results The results indicate that QOL and swallowing function decrease acutely during CR ( p < .05) but improvement begins shortly after the treatment‐related decline. At 6 months after CR, mean QOL exceeds pretreatment level. The oropharynx patients have the poorest outcome when compared with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal patients. A stronger correlation exists between swallowing and QOL at 6 months post‐CR than during treatment ( R = .52 versus R = .30). Conclusions Quality of life and swallowing are compromised in advanced head and neck cancer patients prior to treatment. There was a further decrease in QOL and swallow function during CR. Organ‐preservation programs in head and neck cancer result in improved QOL and swallowing 6 months after treatment. The degree of improvement is site‐specific. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 20: 31–37, 1998.