title: Eating ability in head and neck cancer patients after treatment with chemoradiation: a 12-month follow-up study accounting for dropout.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Head and neck cancer patients treated with chemoradiation have difficulty eating a normal diet. This study was designed to characterize eating ability over 12 months after chemoradiation treatment. Analyses take patient dropout into account.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred fifty-five patients with head and neck cancer treated with chemoradiation were followed for 12 months. Eating ability was analyzed using generalized linear model methods that accounted for non-ignorable dropout.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eating ability was compromised immediately after treatment and improved over 12 months to near pretreatment levels. Ability to eat at most 50% of the diet orally did not return to baseline levels (p <.05). However, the percent of patients eating a normal diet did return to baseline levels. Accounting for dropout modified the results, but the pattern of significance was similar.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Treatment of head and neck cancer with chemoradiation has a significant effect on eating ability, which improves after 12 months after treatment.
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Suite 1102, 680 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. rademaker@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Alfred W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Rademaker
authors.forename: Edward F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Vonesh
authors.forename: Jeri A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Logemann
authors.forename: Barbara Roa
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Pauloski
authors.forename: Dachao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Cathy L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lazarus
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Annette Hamner
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: MacCracken
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gaziano
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stachowiak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors