ABSTRACT
Cancer of the oral cavity is one of the most common cancers all over the world. Oral cancer and its treatment impacts on patients' Quality of Life (QOL). The purpose of the present study was to assess oral cancer patients' QOL after the completion of surgical therapy, and to investigate factors affecting it. This was a prospective cohort study, conducted at the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, of a large general public hospital in Northern Greece. The sample consisted of 135 consecutive eligible cancer patients. Three distinct questionnaires were used. The first one included questions regarding the participants' demographic characteristics and relevant clinical information. The second comprised the European Organization for Research and Treatment core module (EORTC QLQ-C30) and its head and neck module EORTC QLQ-H&N35. The third was the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) assessment of quality of life. We also included the physician-completed Karnofsky scale to assess the functional status of the participants. We found that location of the tumor affects QOL and specifically social contact (H = 17.89, p = 0.001), on the first assessment, and nutritional supplements (H = 22.49, p = 0.000), on the fourth assessment. QOL in patients deteriorates immediately after treatment but significantly improves over time. Health care professionals should take into account these results and arrange care plans in order to find ways to increase patients' QOL.
ABSTRACT
Aim of the study The project assessed the quality of life in post-operative patients with tongue cancer at three-month intervals in the first year after the operation. Material and methods A longitudinal prospective cohort study was conducted in the oral and maxillofacial department of a large public general hospital in northern Greece. Fifty-six patients out of a total of 156 with oral cancer were chosen for the study, who completed distinct quality-of-life surveys (EORTC QLQ-C30, and QLQ Head & Neck Module FACT-G). Results Tumor size correlated negatively with various EORTC QLQ-C30 scores, such as role functioning (p = 0.004) and cognitive functioning (p = 0.007), in the third evaluation. Tumor size correlated positively with subscale problems such as social eating (p = 0.001) and weight loss (p = 0.004) in the QLQ Head & Neck Module. The role functioning subscale (p = 0.003), the pain subscale (p = 0.001), and the speech issues QLQ Head & Neck module subscale (p = 0.003) adversely correlated with cancer stage. Patients who received flap reconstruction significantly differed from those who did not, on the EORTC QLQ-C30 cognitive functioning (U = 139.0, p = 0.006), dyspnea (U = 391.5, p = 0.006), and diarrhea (U = 425.0, p = 0.007) subscales during the third evaluation. Differences were also found in the QLQ-H&N35 subscale of sticky saliva (U = 391.0, p = 0.006). Patients with flap reconstruction did not significantly differ from those with immediate closure after one year. Differences concerned the EORTC QLQ-C30 subscales of cognitive functioning, dyspnea, and diarrhea, and the QLQ Head & Neck Module subscale of sticky saliva on the third assessment. No statistically significant correlations were observed between tumor size and cancer stage in the fourth assessment, but the grade of cancer positively correlated with the EORTC QLQ-C30 subscale of constipation (p = 0.000). Conclusions Our study suggests that quality of life is impaired in patients with tongue cancer who have undergone surgical interventions, particularly within the first month post-operation. However, quality of life is fully restored one year after the surgical excision. Future studies should explore early interventions to help healthcare providers better treat this unique group of patients.
