title: Estimation of life expectancy and quality-adjusted life expectancy in non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer patients treated by intensity-modulated radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to estimate the life expectancy (LE) and quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) in non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were eligible for the present study if they were diagnosed with NPC and had been treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2010. The quality of life (QOL) data were collected using the questionnaires of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35. The LE of NPC patients was obtained using linear extrapolation of a logit-transformed curve and was adjusted by the corresponding QOL function to calculate the QALE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period, 110 patients met the inclusion criteria, and 53 of these completed questionnaires. The median follow-up was 65.2 months (range 4.0-117.3 months). The average LE and QALE were estimated to be 20.6 years and 11.6 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for NPC patients and 24.4 years and 24.4 QALYs for the reference population, respectively. Compared to the reference population, the loss of LE and QALE for NPC patients were 3.8 years and 12.8 QALYs, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study offers a quick overview of the LE and the QALE of NPC patients treated with IMRT. Moreover, the results appear more understandable than the 5 year survival outcomes when communicating with patients or the general population regarding cancer risk. In the future, evaluating the robustness of comparative assessments for the outcome of NPC patients undergoing different treatment protocols will be possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Hsuan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Miao-Fen
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fu-Min
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan. Electronic address: danielchen@cgmh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Wen-Cheng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy; Life expectancy; Nasopharyngeal cancer; Quality of life; Quality-adjusted life expectancy; Quality-adjusted life years