McCaffrey Judith Czaja, Weitzner Michael, Kamboukas Dimitra, Haselhuhn Gretchen, Lamonde Laurie, Booth-Jones Margaret
Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology-Head and Neck Program, H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center at University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007 Jan;136(1):92-7. doi: 10.1016/j.otohns.2006.06.1275.
To determine prevalence of alcohol abuse and dependency, depression, and cognitive impairment in presurgical head and neck cancer patients.
Standardized testing by diagnostic interview was used to determine major depression and alcoholism. Mattis Dementia Rating Scale examined cognitive ability preoperatively. Twenty-four patients with advanced head and neck cancer participated.
University hospital.
A total of 63.6% met criteria for alcohol abuse and 62 percent for alcohol dependence; 26.1 % of patients met criteria for major depression. Testing in multiple subsets of cognitive function demonstrated measurable deficits in both alcohol dependents and abusers. All deficits were significant when compared with population norms.
Findings suggest that prevalence of alcohol abuse, major depression, and cognitive impairment is common in head and neck cancer patients preoperatively. Early diagnosis and management of these disorders should be considered in care of the head and neck cancer patient.
