title: Temporal assessment of quality of life of head and neck cancer patients receiving radical radiotherapy.
abstract: The study was undertaken to evaluate physical, psychological and functional aspects in quality of life (QoL) assessment prospectively in biopsy-proven head and neck cancer patients receiving radical radiotherapy. Fifty male patients were assessed using Karnofsky's Performance Status (KPS), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC). Patient questionnaires were completed before radiotherapy, during 3-4 weeks of radiotherapy and 3 months after radiotherapy. Before the start of radiotherapy, KPS was 91 +/- 10.26, FLIC was 129.98 +/- 33.41 and BDI was 7.10 +/- 4.57. This indicated good performance and functional status with lower depression. In weeks 3-4 of radiotherapy, KPS (71.00 +/- 20.12) and FLIC (81.34 +/- 45.23) decreased, while BDI (16.56 +/- 9.01) increased, indicating impairment in QoL. Three months after radiotherapy, KPS (78.37 +/- 23.0), FLIC (119.51 +/- 43.62) and BDI (9.02 +/- 7.81) improved but were not restored to pre-treatment levels. When patients were scheduled for radical radiotherapy, maximum deterioration in QoL was seen in weeks 3-4. This is the time when maximum supportive care and psychologic counselling is required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology (Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chawla
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Mohanti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rakshak
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Rath
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahadur
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D003376:Counseling; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors