Quality of life in patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma after primary surgery and postoperative irradiation.
OBJECTIVE
To assess quality of life in patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma after primary surgery and postoperative irradiation.


METHODS
Retrospective chart review and patient response to the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires.


METHODS
A tertiary care university hospital.


RESULTS
One hundred sixty-nine patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma underwent primary surgery followed by postoperative irradiation between January 1997 and February 2002. Eighty-eight disease-free survivors were identified in September 2002 and included in this study. The questionnaires were completed by 34 patients (39% completion rate). Median follow-up was 2.3 years (range 0.5-4.9 years). In oropharyngeal carcinoma patients, five scales of the SF-36 showed significantly reduced scores in comparison with the normal German population: physical functioning, role functioning - physical, general health, social functioning, and role functioning - emotional. Posttreatment scores from the literature fell within the 95% confidence interval of our data except one out of fifteen scales of the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and six out of eighteen scales of the EORTC QLQ H&N35 questionnaire. The comparison of our data with data from the reviewed literature produced similar results.


CONCLUSIONS
General quality of life was reduced in our oropharyngeal carcinoma patients. Primary surgery and postoperative irradiation demonstrated similar results in different studies.
Baumann
Ingo
I
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. ingo.baumann@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Seibolt
Marc
M
Zalaman
Ilse
I
Dietz
Klaus
K
Maassen
Marcus
M
Plinkert
Peter
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D013517:Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures; D011788:Quality of Life; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012189:Retrospective Studies