Investigation of factor affecting health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer patients.

OBJECTIVES

Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients have profound illness of physical, social and psychological factors that affects quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting HRQL in patients with intra-oral prostheses.

BACKGROUND

Some cross-sectional studies have been performed to investigate HRQL in patients with HNC, but these studies did not report in detail how factors affect the HRQL of maxillectomy and mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The University of Washington Quality of Life version 4 questionnaires (Japanese version) was administered to 50 maxillectomy and 50 mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients with intra-oral prostheses who were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Gathered data were statistically analyzed to investigate how a number of factors, namely, age, sex, pathologic diagnosis, neck dissection, resection size, radiotherapy and dental condition affect HRQL.

RESULTS

In the maxillectomy patients, there were no significant differences between malignant and benign tumor in pathological diagnosis or between dentate and edentulous in dental condition. Age, sex, neck dissection and radiotherapy affected HRQL. In the mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients, there was no significant difference between dentate and edentulous in dental condition. Age, sex, glossectomy, neck dissection and radiotherapy affected HRQL.

CONCLUSIONS

The factors affecting HRQL in the maxillectomy patients were different from those in the mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients. Though they wore stable prostheses; we were still able to show that resection size, radiotherapy and neck dissection affected HRQL.