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A prospective study of quality of life in head and neck cancer patients. Part I: at diagnosis

Hammerlid, Eva ; Bjordal, Kristin ; Ahlner-Elmqvist, Marianne LU ; Boysen, Morten ; Evensen, Jan F. ; Biorklund, Anders ; Jannert, Magnus LU ; Kaasa, Stein ; Sullivan, Marianne and Westin, Thomas (2001) In Laryngoscope 111(4 Pt 1). p.669-680
Abstract
PURPOSE: A Swedish and Norwegian study was designed to examine health-related quality of life (HQL) in patients with head and neck cancer (head and neck) at diagnosis and during treatment and rehabilitation. The overall aim was to examine the impact on HQL at diagnosis depending on tumor location, stage, sex, and age (part I) and to describe HQL longitudinally and determine for which patients and during which period HQL deteriorated most (part II). This article presents the results at diagnosis. METHOD: Patients with head and neck cancer at five hospitals in Sweden and Norway were consecutively requested to participate. They were asked to answer the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 (the European Organization for Research and Treatment of... (More)
PURPOSE: A Swedish and Norwegian study was designed to examine health-related quality of life (HQL) in patients with head and neck cancer (head and neck) at diagnosis and during treatment and rehabilitation. The overall aim was to examine the impact on HQL at diagnosis depending on tumor location, stage, sex, and age (part I) and to describe HQL longitudinally and determine for which patients and during which period HQL deteriorated most (part II). This article presents the results at diagnosis. METHOD: Patients with head and neck cancer at five hospitals in Sweden and Norway were consecutively requested to participate. They were asked to answer the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 (the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Core 30 questionnaire and head and neck cancer module) repeatedly during 1 year. A total of 357 patients (mean age, 63 y; 72% males) were included. RESULTS: Patients with different tumor locations all had their special problems at diagnosis, for example, those with tumors in the larynx with communication, those with oral tumors with pain, and those with pharyngeal tumors with nutrition and pain. The patients with hypopharyngeal cancer reported the worst HQL. Stage appeared to have the strongest impact on HQL. Patients with a more advanced tumor stage reported significantly worse HQL scores for 24 of 32 variables reflecting functioning or problems. The females scored worse than the males for some areas, in particular, emotional functioning. The older patients scored significantly better for emotional and social functioning than patients <65 years but worse for physical functioning and various symptoms. The traditional way of grouping the tumor locations into oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, and "other" tumors (salivary gland, sinus and nose, and unknown primary) was tested from a HQL point of view and found to be consistent. CONCLUSIONS: The chosen questionnaires differentiated between different sites of head and neck cancer at diagnosis. Tumor stage had the most powerful impact on HQL score. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Laryngoscope
volume
111
issue
4 Pt 1
pages
669 - 680
publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
external identifiers
  • pmid:11359139
  • scopus:0035075009
ISSN
1531-4995
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
546d6f32-404d-4923-b5f8-c28a5badb103 (old id 1120652)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:16:56
date last changed
2022-03-30 00:31:47
@article{546d6f32-404d-4923-b5f8-c28a5badb103,
  abstract     = {{PURPOSE: A Swedish and Norwegian study was designed to examine health-related quality of life (HQL) in patients with head and neck cancer (head and neck) at diagnosis and during treatment and rehabilitation. The overall aim was to examine the impact on HQL at diagnosis depending on tumor location, stage, sex, and age (part I) and to describe HQL longitudinally and determine for which patients and during which period HQL deteriorated most (part II). This article presents the results at diagnosis. METHOD: Patients with head and neck cancer at five hospitals in Sweden and Norway were consecutively requested to participate. They were asked to answer the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&amp;N35 (the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Core 30 questionnaire and head and neck cancer module) repeatedly during 1 year. A total of 357 patients (mean age, 63 y; 72% males) were included. RESULTS: Patients with different tumor locations all had their special problems at diagnosis, for example, those with tumors in the larynx with communication, those with oral tumors with pain, and those with pharyngeal tumors with nutrition and pain. The patients with hypopharyngeal cancer reported the worst HQL. Stage appeared to have the strongest impact on HQL. Patients with a more advanced tumor stage reported significantly worse HQL scores for 24 of 32 variables reflecting functioning or problems. The females scored worse than the males for some areas, in particular, emotional functioning. The older patients scored significantly better for emotional and social functioning than patients &lt;65 years but worse for physical functioning and various symptoms. The traditional way of grouping the tumor locations into oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, and "other" tumors (salivary gland, sinus and nose, and unknown primary) was tested from a HQL point of view and found to be consistent. CONCLUSIONS: The chosen questionnaires differentiated between different sites of head and neck cancer at diagnosis. Tumor stage had the most powerful impact on HQL score.}},
  author       = {{Hammerlid, Eva and Bjordal, Kristin and Ahlner-Elmqvist, Marianne and Boysen, Morten and Evensen, Jan F. and Biorklund, Anders and Jannert, Magnus and Kaasa, Stein and Sullivan, Marianne and Westin, Thomas}},
  issn         = {{1531-4995}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4 Pt 1}},
  pages        = {{669--680}},
  publisher    = {{Lippincott Williams & Wilkins}},
  series       = {{Laryngoscope}},
  title        = {{A prospective study of quality of life in head and neck cancer patients. Part I: at diagnosis}},
  volume       = {{111}},
  year         = {{2001}},
}