title: Investigation of factor affecting health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients have profound illness of physical, social and psychological factors that affects quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting HRQL in patients with intra-oral prostheses.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Some cross-sectional studies have been performed to investigate HRQL in patients with HNC, but these studies did not report in detail how factors affect the HRQL of maxillectomy and mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The University of Washington Quality of Life version 4 questionnaires (Japanese version) was administered to 50 maxillectomy and 50 mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients with intra-oral prostheses who were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Gathered data were statistically analyzed to investigate how a number of factors, namely, age, sex, pathologic diagnosis, neck dissection, resection size, radiotherapy and dental condition affect HRQL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the maxillectomy patients, there were no significant differences between malignant and benign tumor in pathological diagnosis or between dentate and edentulous in dental condition. Age, sex, neck dissection and radiotherapy affected HRQL. In the mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients, there was no significant difference between dentate and edentulous in dental condition. Age, sex, glossectomy, neck dissection and radiotherapy affected HRQL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The factors affecting HRQL in the maxillectomy patients were different from those in the mandibulectomy and/or glossectomy patients. Though they wore stable prostheses; we were still able to show that resection size, radiotherapy and neck dissection affected HRQL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maxillofacial Prosthetics, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Jien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morimata
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otomaru
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.forename: Mihoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haraguchi
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sumita
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology; D017266:Dental Prosthesis / Q000523:psychology; D003817:Dentition; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005927:Glossectomy / Q000523:psychology; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery; D008437:Maxilla / Q000601:surgery; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000523:psychology; D037981:Neck Dissection / Q000523:psychology; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology