Quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer treated by radiotherapy: A prospective self-assessment with the eortc qlq-c30 and qlq-h&n35 questionnaires

Abstract

Background: The quality of life (QoL) of Slovenian patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) treated by radiotherapy (RT) has not yet been systematically evaluated with internationally established tools, which would allow comparison with the study results from abroad. Methods: Forty patients with HNC treated by definitive (N=23) or postoperative (N=17) RT completed two questionnaires of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), validated and translated into Slovenian, before RT, at the end of RT and 10-12 weeks after the end of treatment: general QLQ-C30 questionnaire for patients with different types of cancer and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire for patients with HNC. Statistically significant differences between the two measurements of 10 points or more were defined as clinically significant. Results: Prior to RT, patients with tracheostomy or feeding tube, smokers, patients with comorbidities and human papillomavirus-unrelated cancers had poorer QoL. The intensity of treatment (higher RT dose, addition of chemotherapy to RT) had a significant effect on QoL at the end of RT, but not 10-12 weeks after treatment. The analysis of the dynamics of changes in QoL items confirmed that in most cases the scores return to the level before the start of RT. The exceptions were items related to RT-specific gustatory and salivary apparatus failures: their final score was significantly worse than the pre-RT score. Conclusion: Estimates of different QoL items in Slovenian patients with HNC before, during and after RT are comparable to the results of similar analyses abroad. After RT treatment, QoL depends mainly on the degree of damage to the gustatory and salivary apparatus, which also affects swallowing.