Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, 97015-530, Brazil.
Department of Stomatology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Support Care Cancer. 2020 Apr;28(4):1941-1950. doi: 10.1007/s00520-019-05008-4. Epub 2019 Aug 2.
The present cross-sectional study evaluated the quality of life of patients treated with 3-D conformal radiotherapy for cancer of the mouth, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx and investigated possible associations with clinical and sociodemographic variables using multivariate analysis.
The sample was composed of 90 patients who had completed treatment at least 3 months earlier. Data were collected from April 2016 to May 2017. The patients were clinically evaluated with regard to stimulated salivary flow, trismus, and radiation caries. Sociodemographic data and data related to the disease (stage, location of primary tumor, and radiation dose) were collected from the patient charts. Quality of life was assessed using the Brazilian version of the University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL) questionnaire. Poisson logistic regression was performed to determine the mean ratio and test associations with the clinical and sociodemographic variables.
The mean total of the UW-QOL was 814.88 (± 224.58). Patient age, staging of cancer, hyposalivation, and trismus were associated with quality of life. Patients with tumors in the advanced stage, those with hyposalivation and those with trismus respectively had 11% (CI 0.80-0.98), 12% (CI 0.79-0.99), and 15% (CI 0.77-0.94) lower UW-QOL scores, indicating poorer quality of life.
Survivors of head and neck cancer experience a negative impact on quality of life associated with trismus, hyposalivation, advanced stage tumors, and a younger patient age. The present findings underscore the importance of a specific approach focused on these aspects to ensure better quality of life in the long term.
本横断面研究评估了接受三维适形放疗治疗口腔癌、口咽癌、下咽癌或喉癌患者的生活质量，并通过多变量分析调查了与临床和社会人口统计学变量的可能相关性。
该样本由 90 名至少在 3 个月前完成治疗的患者组成。数据收集时间为 2016 年 4 月至 2017 年 5 月。对患者进行了唾液刺激流量、张口困难和放射性龋齿的临床评估。从患者病历中收集了社会人口统计学数据和与疾病相关的数据（分期、原发肿瘤位置和放射剂量）。使用巴西版华盛顿大学生活质量（UW-QOL）问卷评估生活质量。采用泊松逻辑回归确定平均比值，并检验与临床和社会人口统计学变量的相关性。
UW-QOL 的平均总分为 814.88（±224.58）。患者年龄、癌症分期、唾液减少和张口困难与生活质量相关。处于晚期的肿瘤患者、唾液减少的患者和张口困难的患者分别有 11%（CI 0.80-0.98）、12%（CI 0.79-0.99）和 15%（CI 0.77-0.94）更低的 UW-QOL 评分，表明生活质量更差。
头颈部癌症幸存者的生活质量受到负面影响，与张口困难、唾液减少、晚期肿瘤和年轻患者年龄有关。目前的研究结果强调了关注这些方面的具体方法的重要性，以确保长期内更好的生活质量。
