Longitudinal and cross-sectional assessment of quality of life in surgically treated 225 advanced (T4)Buccal mucosa cancers

Publication date: Available online 21 September 2017
Source:Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology
Author(s): Manish Mair, Sudhir Nair, Santosh Nikam, Deepa Nair, Jai Prakash Agrawal, Pankaj Chaturvedi
BackgroundQuality of life(QOL) has become an important aspect of today's health care management.Longitudinal assessment of QOL in patients with advanced buccal mucosa cancers(T4) is done in this study.Comparison of QOL between patients who received adjuvant chemo-radiation(CTRT) or radiation(RT) alone is done and whether baseline QOL can predict disease recurrence is also assessed.Materials and MethodsThiswas a prospective study of 225 T4 buccal mucosa cancer patients.Health-related (QOL) was assessed at baseline and at 3,6,9 and 12 months after completion of treatment by means of the EORTC Core QOL Questionnaire and theEORTC HN35 questionnaire.ResultsThere was a persistent improvement in Global QOL and pain. Emotional functioning improved at 12 months.Most of the Head and Neck specific symptoms deteriorated at 3 months with subsequent improvement at 12 months except for Swallowing,Senses,Speech,Socialeating,Socialcontact, and Sexuality.Patients who received adjuvant CTRT had poorer QOL.Poorer Baseline Global QOL(p-0.049),dyspnea(p-0.04),appetite loss(p-0.015) and weight loss(p-0.08) may predict recurrence.ConclusionWhile there is an improvement in global QOL,pain and painkillers,most of the Head and Neck specific symptoms worsened in the immediate post operative period.Adjuvant CTRT has persistent effect on specific domains as compared to adjuvant RT alone.Poor baseline QOL score is associated with higher risk of recurrences.



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