Survival and quality of life of patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer at 1-year follow-up of tumor resection.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to assess the survival and life quality evolution of patients subjected to surgical excision of oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.


METHODS
Forty-seven patients treated at a Brazilian healthcare unit specialized in head and neck surgery between 2006 and 2007 were enrolled in the study. The gathering of data comprised reviewing hospital files and applying the University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL) questionnaire previously and 1 year after the surgery. Comparative analysis used Poisson regression to assess factors associated with survival and a paired t-test to compare preoperative and 1-year postoperative QOL ratings.


RESULTS
1 year after surgery, 7 patients were not found (dropout of the cohort); 15 had died and 25 fulfilled the UW-QOL again. The risk of death was associated with having regional metastasis previously to surgery (relative risk=2.18; 95% confidence interval=1.09-5.17) and tumor size T3 or T4 (RR=2.30; 95%CI=1.05-5.04). Survivors presented significantly (p<0.05) poorer overall and domain-specific ratings of quality of life. Chewing presented the largest reduction: from 74.0 before surgery to 34.0 one year later. Anxiety was the only domain whose average rating increased (from 36.0 to 70.7).


CONCLUSIONS
The prospective assessment of survival and quality of life may contribute to anticipate interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of functional limitations in patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer.
Biazevic
Maria Gabriela Haye
MG
School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Antunes
José Leopoldo Ferreira
JL
Togni
Janina
J
de Andrade
Fabiana Paula
FP
de Carvalho
Marcos Brasilino
MB
Wünsch-Filho
Victor
V
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000339:Affect; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000523:psychology / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008048:Lip Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D011998:Recreation; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D015996:Survival Rate; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome