The Effect of Socioeconomic Factors on Quality of Life After Treatment in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

Influence of social factors on patient‐reported late symptoms: Report from a controlled trial among long‐term head and neck cancer survivors in Denmark

“…As opposed to previous studies, which were designed mainly to evaluate treatment‐related risk factors for physical late effects or only a few symptoms, we examined individual social factors associated with the onset or severity of a wide range of physiological and psychological late symptoms after head and neck cancer. Although several studies have investigated the influence of patient factors on QOL before and after treatment, most of them measured global or overall QOL from binary models (high/low QOL), overall Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐general scores, or composite physical and mental summary scores . As in our study, an effect of educational level and marital status was found with these overall measures; however, detailed information on late effects was not available, which may limit the usefulness of those results in a clinical context, in view of the wide individual diversity in the occurrence, severity, and social consequences of late symptoms after head and neck cancer.…”

Prognostic significance of body mass index before treatment for head and neck cancer

“…Fourth, we did not include data on socioeconomic status. Some previous studies have reported that low socioeconomic populations have a high prevalence of head and neck cancer and that a low socioeconomic status is associated with an advanced T classification, alcohol consumption habits, poor survival, and quality of life after treatment in head and neck cancer. These factors are also associated with malnutrition .…”

Effect of daily fraction size on laryngoesophageal dysfunction after chemoradiation for squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx and hypopharynx

“…Studies have clearly shown that speaking and eating are among the most critical functions that are considered in quality of life . However, measuring function can be complicated by a variety of factors, including socioeconomic status, cultural/spiritual influences, medical comorbidities, and variabilities of treatment . The lack of pretreatment FACT H&N scores may, thus, have confounded the results.…”