Epidemiologic profile and quality of life of patients treated for oral cancer in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the quality of life of patients treated for oral cancer, analyzing their physical, social/family, functional and emotional well-being; to identify socioeconomic and clinical functional variables that may potentially influence their quality of life; to describe the patients' epidemiologic profile (sex and age) and tumor features (histopathology, anatomical location and stage); to identify the frequency of risk factors associated with the malignancy.


METHODS
Observational cross-sectional study-case series study undertaken in 2 cancer treatment institutions in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 2000 and 2007.


RESULTS
Of the 88 registered oral cancer patients, 16 were selected for the study sample. The majority of the study sample (87%) included males, with a mean age of 57.06 years; 43.8% were retired; 50% had not completed elementary education. Most (56.3%) had a monthly income of less than the minimum wage. Most (83.7%) smoked before cancer diagnosis and 43.8% from this sample continued to smoke after treatment. In addition, those who drank alcohol before treatment continued drinking (31.3%). The tongue was the predominant anatomic site (37.5%). The patients' quality of life score was fair; the best result was for emotional well-being.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the limitations imposed by low survival, it was possible to evaluate the quality of life of these patients. Patients having a family income higher than the minimum monthly wage scored significantly better in final indexes FACT-G and FACT-HN than those with a lower income.
de-Jesus
Rodolfo-Ribeiro
RR
Oral Diagnosis, Vale do Rio Verde University, Três Corações (MG), Brasil.
Meyer
Tufi-Neder
TN
Leite
Isabel-Cristina-Gonçalves
IC
Pereira
Alessandro-Antonio-Costa
AA
Armond
Mônica-Costa
MC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors