Dental News - Quality of life remains low in cancer survivors

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 3 February 2012

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DES MOINES, Iowa, USA: According to a survey undertaken by the University of Iowa, head and neck cancer survivors face poor quality of life owing to health-related issues. Owing to reduced oral functioning, over 50 percent reported persistent eating problems and 28.3 percent suffered from depression.

The research team lead by Prof. Gerry F. Funk from the University of Iowa College of Medicine investigated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes of 337 patients, who were diagnosed with head and neck cancer between early 1995 and late 2004 and survived at least five years. Starting one year after treatment, patients measured their HRQOL by scoring factors such as eating, speech, aesthetics, social disruption, depressive symptoms, and their overall quality of life.

Concerning long-term effects, the study found that approximately one third of the patients examined reported depressive symptoms and more than 50 percent of the head and neck cancer survivors had problems eating because of their poor oropharyngeal functioning. More than 17.3 percent reported persistent pain. The two factors, pain and diet, were therefore recognized as the strongest predictors of poor long-term HRQOL.

The authors said that treatment improvements must be made to interventions that address eating issues, swallowing problems and pain management, especially in those functioning poorly one year after diagnosis.

The main objective of the study was to determine the proportion of survivors with poor HRQOL outcomes. Components such as age, sex, treatment type, level of pain, alcohol and tobacco use should be identified as predictive for long-term HRQOL outcomes to modify current therapies.

Moreover the survey revealed that over 50 percent of patients survived even though their unhealthy lifestyles persisted in many cases after treatment. Almost 14 percent continued smoking and 38.9 percent continued using alcohol.

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