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A prospective study on quality of life of laryngeal cancer patients treated with radiotherapy
Author(s) -
de Graeff Alexander,
de Leeuw Rob J.,
Ros Wynand J. G.,
Hordijk GertJan,
Battermann Jan J.,
Blijham Geert H.,
Winnubst Jacques A. M.
Publication year - 1999
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(199907)21:4<291::aid-hed1>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - medicine , radiation therapy , head and neck cancer , quality of life (healthcare) , mood , coping (psychology) , cancer , depression (economics) , prospective cohort study , physical therapy , clinical psychology , nursing , economics , macroeconomics
Background The aim of this study was to describe prospectively quality of life and mood before and after radiotherapy for laryngeal cancer. Methods Sixty‐five patients with Tis‐T3 laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core Questionnaire, the EORTC Head and Neck Cancer module, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale before treatment and 6 and 12 months later. Results There was a significant but temporary deterioration of physical functioning, fatigue and most head and neck symptoms. Speech was the only symptom which improved. Patients with T2 tumors had significantly worse physical symptoms compared with patients with T1 tumors. There was a high level of depressive symptomatology at baseline, followed by an improvement after treatment. Conclusions After radiotherapy for laryngeal cancer, a temporary deterioration of physical functioning and symptoms occurs, mostly caused by side effects of treatment. Despite physical deterioration, there is an improvement of emotional functioning and mood after treatment, probably as a result of psychological adaptation and coping processes. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 21: 291–296, 1999.