Quality of life of patients undergoing surgical treatment of head and neck malignancy

Abstract

This study prospectively follows changes in quality of life (QoL) of 40 patients undergoing surgical treatment for head and neck malignancy over a 1-year period, using the University of Washington QoL questionnaire version 4.0. The tumour types included oral, oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal, oesophageal, laryngeal, sinonasal and thyroid carcinomas. Mean overall QoL scores were significantly worse at 3 and 6 months (P < 0.05) and returned to around preoperative scores at 12 months (P = 0.11). Oropharyngeal, laryngeal, sinonasal and thyroid subsites all maintained QoL scores at each time point. QoL scores for hypopharyngeal and oral subsites dropped markedly at 3 and 6 months but returned to around preoperative levels at 12 months. The domains most affected by treatment varied depending on tumour subsite. For the population as a whole, their appearance, activity, speech, shoulder and saliva domains were all significantly less at 12 months. Anxiety scores were significantly better at 12 months.

Craniofacial resection for tumors of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses: A 25-year experience

“…From the perspective of the patient, there are clear functional and societal advantages to this approach. 22 The analysis again demonstrates the importance of craniofacial resection for accurate staging and for oncologically encompassing extension of disease up to and including olfactory tracts and bulbs, which is particularly pertinent to tumors such as olfactory neuroblastoma, and is reflected in survival rates more than double that produced by lateral rhinotomy plus radiotherapy. 12 However, once tumor has involved brain, the prognosis is particularly poor with very few survivors, irrespective of histology.…”

High prevalence of self‐reported shoulder complaints after thyroid carcinoma surgery

“…Surgical treatment of head and neck malignancy, especially when involving neck dissections, is well known to be associated with shoulder complaints . After radical neck dissection, shoulder dysfunction has even been shown to be the most important source of long‐term morbidity of the patient with symptoms consisting of shoulder pain, limitation in shoulder mobility, and winging of the scapula .…”

Economic burden of resected squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in an incident cohort of patients in the UK

“…Besides, surgery for oral cavity and oropharynx cancer was found to immediately cause impairment in physical, emotional and social functions and severely compromise the patient's quality of life (QoL) [11]. Overall QoL scores of patients with SCCHN were significantly worse at 3 and 6 months and returned to around preoperative scores at 12 months after treatment [12,13]. However, the patients with oral cancer, who were treated with surgery, did not restore preoperational level of function in appearance, swallowing, recreation, and chewing [14-16] and no significant overall improvement was found at 12 months among patients who underwent free-flap surgery or total laryngectomy [17-22].…”