Patient assessed symptoms are poor predictors of objective findings. Results from a cross sectional study in patients treated with radiotherapy for pharyngeal cancer

Abstract

(2007) Patient assessed symptoms are poor predictors of objective findings. Results from a cross sectional study in patients treated with radiotherapy for pharyngeal cancer,

The lived experience of dysphagia following non-surgical treatment for head and neck cancer

“…As a consequence, in more recent literature there has been increased consideration of the functional outcomes and changes to quality of life (QoL) associated with dysphagia in the HNC population (Llewellyn, Weinman, McGurk, & Humphris, 2008;Lovell, Wong, Loh, Ngo, & Wilson, 2005;Nguyen et al, 2005). Whilst such research has furthered our understanding of the impact of dysphagia following HNC management, the majority of studies to date have applied quantitative methods to measure the extent of functional change (Barringer, Hutcheson, Sturgis, Kies, & Lewin, 2009;Cartmill, Cornwell, Ward, Davidson, & Porceddu, 2011a;Cartmill et al, 2012;Jensen et al, 2007) or change in QoL (Lovell et al, 2005;Maurer et al, 2011;Nguyen et al, 2005). The value of taking a quantitative approach has been to confirm that a problem exists (Llewellyn et al, 2008;Lovell et al, 2005;Murry, Madasu, Martin, & Robbins, 1998;Nguyen et al, 2005).…”

Transoral laser microsurgery ± adjuvant therapy versus chemoradiotherapy for stage III and IVA oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: Preliminary comparison of early swallowing outcomes

“…When assessing swallowing function, it is important to realize that there is no single method of measuring outcomes. Patients' experiences do not always correlate with objective measures . Therefore, both patient‐reported and clinician‐rated assessments were collected.…”

Measuring side effects after radiotherapy for pharynx cancer

“…Head and neck cancer is most often seen in patients above 60 years of age, in smokers, and in patients with a relatively poor socioeconomic status. The same parameters define those at greatest risk for dental problems, even before treatment [31]. Dental problems after radiotherapy are related to salivary gland dysfunction [51].…”

“…It is not reported to be as intense or frequent as xerostomia, but it might be of greater importance for health [31]. Dysphagia prolongs or prohibits the intake of normal meals.…”

“…Objective assessment of cognitive function and sedation, using Mini Mental State Examination and Alertness/Sedation scale, were not correlated with self-reported cognitive function symptoms of the EORTC questionnaire in 29 palliative patients [90]. Patientreported swallowing problems have been compared with FEES findings, dental problems with a dental examination, and xerostomia with saliva flow in 35 pharynx cancer survivors [31]. A significant correlation for all endpoints was found, but patientreported toxicity only predicted observable morbidity with a sensitivity of 0.60Á0.83, a specificity of 0.43Á0.81, a positive predictive value of 0.28Á0.81 and a negative predictive value of 0.46Á0.94.…”