Epidemiologic profile and quality of life of patients treated for oral cancerin Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To assess the quality of life of patients treated for oral cancer, analyzing their physical, social/family,functional and emotional well-being; to identify socioeconomic and clinical functional variables that maypotentially influence their quality of life; to describe the patients’ epidemiologic profile (sex and age) and tumorfeatures (histopathology, anatomical location and stage); to identify the frequency of risk factors associated withthe malignancy. Study design: Observational cross-sectional study-case series study undertaken in 2 cancer treatmentinstitutions in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 2000 and 2007. Results: Of the 88 registered oralcancer patients, 16 were selected for the study sample. The majority of the study sample (87%) included males,with a mean age of 57.06 years; 43.8% were retired; 50% had not completed elementary education. Most (56.3%)had a monthly income of less than the minimum wage. Most (83.7%) smoked before cancer diagnosis and 43.8%from this sample continued to smoke after treatment. In addition, those who drank alcohol before treatmentcontinued drinking (31.3%). The tongue was the predominant anatomic site (37.5%). The patients’ quality of lifescore was fair; the best result was for emotional well-being. Conclusions: Despite the limitations imposed by lowsurvival, it was possible to evaluate the quality of life of these patients. Patients having a family income higherthan the minimum monthly wage scored significantly better in final indexes FACT-G and FACT-HN than thosewith a lower income (AU)

RESUMEN

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