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A performance status scale for head and neck cancer patients
Author(s) -
List Marcy A.,
RitterSterr Chris,
Lansky Shirley B.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19900801)66:3<564::aid-cncr2820660326>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - medicine , head and neck cancer , head and neck , cancer , breast cancer , physical therapy , rehabilitation , scale (ratio) , population , physical medicine and rehabilitation , surgery , environmental health , physics , quantum mechanics
Effective assessment of treatment outcome and the development of successful rehabilitation for head and neck cancer patients demand an evaluation of the relevant parameters of functional status. This paper reports the development and testing of a new Performance Status Scale for Head and Neck Cancer Patients designed to assess the unique areas of dysfunction experienced by this population. The instrument is a simple, practical, clinician‐rated assessment tool consisting of three subscales: (1) Understandability of Speech, (2) Normalcy of Diet, and (3) Eating in Public. The scale was administered to a group of 181 head and neck patients and a comparison group of 30 breast cancer patients. Results indicate that the scale is reliable across raters and sensitive to functional differences across a broad spectrum of head and neck cancer.