PURPOSE: To assess the health-related quality of life (QOL) of long-term survivors of carcinomas of different subsites of the head and neck following curative radiotherapy (RT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients continuously free from recurrence or second primary tumors treated 1988-1994 were contacted 5.1 to 5.9 years after RT and asked to fill in the EORTC QLQ-C30 core questionnaire and the H&N cancer module. RT had been restricted to the glottis (group A; carcinomas of the vocal cord T1-2 N0), or had included bilateral neck nodes and the primary tumor outside the nasopharynx (group B; AJC Stage II to IV) or within the nasopharynx, respectively (group C; Stage II to IV). Response rate was 97% (group A; n = 41), 69% (group B; n = 26) and 71% (group C; n = 12), respectively. The groups were different with respect to age (older in group A), alcohol consumption (absent in group C) and proportion of females (more in group C). RESULTS: Patients with nasopharyngeal cancer reported the highest morbidity on the H&N module (dry mouth, sticky saliva, trismus, problems with teeth, trouble eating). However, these symptoms did not have a high impact on global QOL or function scores on the QLQ-C30 core questionnaire. Patients in group B reported a lower global QOL but less severe symptoms on the module. CONCLUSION: The high morbidity of patients treated for a nasopharyngeal cancer may be explained by the location of the target volume which included the bilateral temporo-mandibular joints and the salivary glands. These patients require appropriate care during follow-up and will probably profit most from new RT techniques with sparing of normal tissues.
PURPOSE: To assess the health-related quality of life (QOL) of long-term survivors of carcinomas of different subsites of the head and neck following curative radiotherapy (RT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients continuously free from recurrence or second primary tumors treated 1988-1994 were contacted 5.1 to 5.9 years after RT and asked to fill in the EORTC QLQ-C30 core questionnaire and the H&N cancer module. RT had been restricted to the glottis (group A; carcinomas of the vocal cord T1-2 N0), or had included bilateral neck nodes and the primary tumor outside the nasopharynx (group B; AJC Stage II to IV) or within the nasopharynx, respectively (group C; Stage II to IV). Response rate was 97% (group A; n = 41), 69% (group B; n = 26) and 71% (group C; n = 12), respectively. The groups were different with respect to age (older in group A), alcohol consumption (absent in group C) and proportion of females (more in group C). RESULTS:Patients with nasopharyngeal cancer reported the highest morbidity on the H&N module (dry mouth, sticky saliva, trismus, problems with teeth, trouble eating). However, these symptoms did not have a high impact on global QOL or function scores on the QLQ-C30 core questionnaire. Patients in group B reported a lower global QOL but less severe symptoms on the module. CONCLUSION: The high morbidity of patients treated for a nasopharyngeal cancer may be explained by the location of the target volume which included the bilateral temporo-mandibular joints and the salivary glands. These patients require appropriate care during follow-up and will probably profit most from new RT techniques with sparing of normal tissues.
Authors: S B Jensen; A M L Pedersen; A Vissink; E Andersen; C G Brown; A N Davies; J Dutilh; J S Fulton; L Jankovic; N N F Lopes; A L S Mello; L V Muniz; C A Murdoch-Kinch; R G Nair; J J Napeñas; A Nogueira-Rodrigues; D Saunders; B Stirling; I von Bültzingslöwen; D S Weikel; L S Elting; F K L Spijkervet; M T Brennan Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2010-03-17 Impact factor: 3.603
Authors: Elisa Bordón; Luis Alberto Henríquez-Hernández; Pedro C Lara; Ana Ruíz; Beatriz Pinar; Carlos Rodríguez-Gallego; Marta Lloret Journal: Radiat Oncol Date: 2010-01-28 Impact factor: 3.481