Temporal assessment of quality of life of head and neck cancer patients receiving radical radiotherapy (original) (raw)
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Cancer Nursing, 2001
The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the quality of life for 58 outpatients during and after a course of radiation treatment for cancers of the head and neck. Data were collected at three time points: T1 (first week of treatment), T2 (last week of treatment), and T3 (1 month after treatment). Patients completed two measures that assessed physical, emotional, functional, and social aspects of wellbeing: the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy: Head and Neck (FACT-H&N) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance and post hoc t tests were performed to assess changes in quality of life over the three time points. Results indicated overall increased levels of physical and functional symptoms, head and neck specific concerns, and depression between T1 and T2. However, except for depression, there was some improvement between scores on each of these measures of physical and functional well-being between T2 and T3, although this improvement was not to the pretreatment level. The FACT subscales assessing social and emotional well-being, and the HADS subscale showed no significant changes across time. Implications of this study relate to the ongoing need for interventions to assist patients once they have completed the radiation treatment course, and to improved assessment in some areas of emotional distress.
Strahlentherapie und Onkologie, 2002
Background: Quality of life (QOL) measures give patients the possibility to express subjective changes in wellbeing. We aimed to translate the radiation specific quality of life questionnaire (QOL-RTI) and the companion head and neck module (H&N) questionnaire into German and to test its reliability, validity and sensitivity. Patients and Methods: After translation and final revisions based on qualitative interviews with ten patients, 97 head and neck cancer patients were screened for eligibility. Patients answered the 38 items questionnaire at baseline and twice in week 4 of radiotherapy for test-retest reliability. Internal consistency was calculated using Chronbach's alpha. Patients also completed the functional assessment of cancer tool plus head and neck (FACT-G plus H&N) for concurrent validity. Item analyses were performed to test the sensitivity. Results: Chronbach's alpha yielded ␣ = 0.85 for the QOL-RTI and ␣ = 0.80 for the H&N module, test-retest reliability scores were r = 0.87 and r = 0.83, respectively. The correlation of the QOL-RTI plus H&N and the FACT plus H&N was r = 0.79. Questionnaire sensitivity was supported by significant changes in the mean score of 45.8% of the QOL-RTI items and 78.6% of the H&N items between baseline and week 4 of radiotherapy. Conclusions: The German version of the QOL-RTI was shown to be a reliable, valid and sensitive tool to assess the quality of life of patients undergoing radiotherapy. The H&N module is useful for patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer.
Quality of Life Research, 2000
Although 50-70% of head and neck cancer patients in India receive radiotherapy (RT), radiation-related acute and late morbidities and their impact on quality of life (QOL) are infrequently reported. Acute and late radiation morbidities and QOL were assessed in a prospective longitudinal study of 45 patients with head and neck cancers receiving radical RT to a dose of 7000 cGy in conventional fractionation. Grade II acute morbidities experienced by the largest percent of the sample during the course of RT pertained to the mucosa (66.4%), salivary gland (84%), and oesophagus (53%). These morbidities led to an increase in the symptom scores of appetite loss (76.46), fatigue (65.75) and pain (44.77). This increase in the symptom scores consequently led to a significant decline in physical, social and emotional functioning as well as global health status score during the course of RT (p < 0.001). Scores improved after 1 month of RT but did not reach the pre-RT value. Future studies may consider correlating QOL assessment to significant patient and disease related parameters such as performance status, weight loss, stage and site of disease.
National Journal of Maxillofacial Surgery, 2019
Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a more specific area of QoL that deals with the evaluation and assessment of the impact of the disease and its treatment-related morbidities on a patient's physical, psychological, and social aspects. The aim of the present study was to assess the HRQoL of patients with head-and-neck cancer (HNCs) during and at 3 months after completion of radiotherapy (RT) by intensity-modulated RT. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective, longitudinal, observational, and self-completed questionnaire-based study that included 120 patients with HNC who underwent intensity-modulated RT. The questionnaire had adequate internal consistency. The questionnaires were given to each patient at the beginning of treatment (pretreatment), weekly visits during the course of RT (at the end of 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , 4 th , 5 th , and 6 th week), on the day of completion of RT, and then finally at 3 months after completion of RT. Thus, a total of successive nine time points were assessed. Results and Conclusions: One hundred and eleven patients completed the questionnaires at all nine time points. HRQoL usually decreases during treatment and then increases to pretreatment levels by 3 months after treatment. The Quality of Life Questionnaire, Core Module and Quality of Life Questionnaire, Head and Neck Module were found to be both valid and reliable. There was a significant QoL reduction for the patients throughout treatment in relation to functions and symptoms in the treatment of HNC. However, all the functions and most of the symptoms returned to baseline at the 3-month follow-up.
Quality of life during early radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer and pain
Journal of Pain Research, 2017
Background: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) have a potentially severe diagnosis and often suffer from tumor-related pain as well as from adverse side effects of treatment such as radiotherapy (RT). Knowledge about quality of life (QoL) during early RT in this group is limited and should be assessed in relation to diagnosis and treatment. Purpose: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify potential factors that may influence QoL in patients with HNC during the early stages of RT (no later than two weeks of ongoing RT). We hypothesized that pain intensity, pain interference, catastrophizing, and mood disturbances are associated with QoL during early RT. Patients and methods: In this study, 54 patients (53% of eligible patients) diagnosed with HNC were consecutively recruited from the regular flow to the Pain and Rehabilitation Center at Linköping University. The patients completed self-reported questionnaires on sociodemographics, pain intensity, pain interference, anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, and QoL. Results: The patients in this study scored high for QoL, low for pain intensity, and low for pain interference. The patients reported minor depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Regression analyses showed that pain intensity and depressive symptoms negatively influenced QoL. Conclusion: No later than two weeks of RT, pain intensity and depression negatively influenced QoL in patients with HNC. Early screening for pain and depression in a targeted preventive strategy might maintain QoL during the course of the RT for patients with HNC. This assumption needs to be further investigated.
International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology, 2021
Introduction Esthetic and functional changes are frequent in patients with head and neck cancer, and they can be caused by both tumor and treatment. Physical and functional impairment often requires the need of a caregiver, who may feel overwhelmed with the tasks of care. Objective This study aims to evaluate the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer submitted to radiotherapy and the overload of their caregivers. Method This is a quantitative cross-sectional study with 42 patients with head and neck cancer and 17 caregivers evaluated during the radiotherapy treatment. Patients responded to the following questionnaires: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer (FACT-H&N) and Shame and Stigma Scale (SSS), while the caregivers responded to the Zarit Burden Interview Scale (ZBI) and Palliative Performance Scale (PPS). Results Head and neck cancer patients showed a decline in the quality of life in all FACT-H&N domains, with the domain of additiona...
The effect of comorbidity on quality of life during radiotherapy in head and neck cancer
Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 2008
To identify the impact of comorbidity on quality of life during radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients. Prospective assessment of quality of life and retrospective assessment of comorbidity. Patients' quality of life was assessed at the start and twice during radiation treatment with the University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire. Comorbidity was assessed from the case notes of 91 patients with the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27 index. A mean comorbidity burden of 1.07 was found. Comorbid illnesses afflicted a little more than 60 percent of our cohort. Patients with moderate to severe comorbidity had statistically significantly worse quality of life at the start (P = 0.044) and midpoint of treatment (P = 0.005), but not at the end of treatment (P = 0.114). The magnitude of change of these scores after treatment was not influenced by comorbidity. On the basis of severity of decompensation, radiotherapy does not produce a differential impact on the quality of l...