Arends Coralie R, van der Molen Lisette, Lindhout Josephine E, Bragante Karoline, Navran Arash, van den Brekel Michiel W M, Stuiver Martijn M
Department of Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication, University of Amsterdam, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Cancers (Basel). 2024 Feb 3;16(3):653. doi: 10.3390/cancers16030653.
To assess the prevalence of chronic lymphedema and trismus in patients > 6 months after head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment, and to explore how the severity of these conditions correlates with body image and quality of life.
The cross-sectional sample included 59 patients, treated for HNC between six months to three years ago. Physical measurements were performed to assess the presence of external lymphedema and trismus (<36 mm). Furthermore, participants completed two questionnaires regarding body image (BIS) and quality of life (UW-QoL V4).
Lymphedema prevalence was 94.1% (95% CI 0.86-0.98), with a median severity score of 9 (range 0-24). Trismus prevalence in this sample was 1.2%. The median BIS score was 2, indicating a positive body image. The UW-QoL score showed a good QOL with a median of 100. Only the domain of saliva and overall related health had a lower median of 70 and 60, respectively. There was no correlation between lymphedema and body image (r = 0.08, = 0.544). Patients with higher lymphedema scores reported poorer speech with a moderate correlation (r = -0.39, = 0.003).
Lymphedema is a highly prevalent, but moderately severe late side-effect of HNC with a limited impact on quality of life domains except for speech, in our cohort.
评估头颈癌（HNC）治疗6个月以上患者慢性淋巴水肿和牙关紧闭的患病率，并探讨这些病症的严重程度与身体形象和生活质量之间的关系。
横断面样本包括59例患者，他们在6个月至3年前接受了HNC治疗。进行体格测量以评估外周淋巴水肿和牙关紧闭（<36毫米）的情况。此外，参与者完成了两份关于身体形象（BIS）和生活质量（UW-QoL V4）的问卷。
淋巴水肿患病率为94.1%（95%CI 0.86-0.98），严重程度中位数评分为9分（范围0-24分）。该样本中牙关紧闭的患病率为1.2%。BIS评分中位数为2分，表明身体形象良好。UW-QoL评分显示生活质量良好，中位数为100分。只有唾液和总体相关健康领域的中位数分别较低，为70分和60分。淋巴水肿与身体形象之间无相关性（r = 0.08，P = 0.544）。淋巴水肿评分较高的患者报告言语功能较差，两者呈中度相关（r = -0.39，P = 0.003）。
在我们的队列中，淋巴水肿是HNC一种高度普遍但严重程度中等的晚期副作用，除言语功能外，对生活质量领域的影响有限。
