title: Quality-of-life among head and neck cancer survivors at one year after treatment--a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The importance of quality-of-life (QoL) research has been recognised over the past two decades in patients with head and neck (H&N) cancer. The aims of this systematic review are to evaluate the QoL status of H&N cancer survivors one year after treatment and to identify the determinants affecting their QoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pubmed, Medline, Scopus, Sciencedirect and CINAHL (2000-2011) were searched for relevant studies, and two of the present authors assessed their methodological quality. The characteristics and main findings of the studies were extracted and reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria, and the methodological quality of the majority was moderate to high. While patients of the group in question recover their global QoL by 12 months after treatment, a number of outstanding issues persist - deterioration in physical functioning, fatigue, xerostomia and sticky saliva. Age, cancer site, stage of disease, social support, smoking, feeding tube placement and alcohol consumption are the significant determinants of QoL at 12 months, while gender has little or no influence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Regular assessments should be carried out to monitor physical functioning, degree of fatigue, xerostomia and sticky saliva. Further research is required to develop appropriate and effective interventions to deal with these issues, and thus to promote the patients' QoL.
authors.affiliation: The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. winnieso@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: W K W
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: D N S
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: B G M
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chair
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: C W H
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D016019:Survival Analysis