title: Exploratory study of long-term health-related quality of life in patients with surgically treated primary parotid gland cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has received more and more attention as an outcome in cancer therapy. In this exploratory study, we assessed the long-term HRQOL among 77 surgically treated patients with parotid gland cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30-questions (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 Head and Neck 35-questions (EORTC-QLQ-C30-H&N35) questionnaires were used in a cross-sectional design. The mean time-lag between initial diagnosis and completion of the questionnaire was 89.7 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HRQOL significantly increased with the time-lag to surgery and decreased with the patients' age. Factors with clinically significant effects in several areas of long-term HRQOL (ie, more than 4 scores) were age, type of neck dissection, preoperative facial nerve palsy, and postoperative radiation therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In parotid gland cancer surgery, factors, such as sex, age, type of surgery, facial nerve palsy, and radiation therapy, seem to be associated with clinically meaningful differences in long-term HRQOL scores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stenner
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beenen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology (IMSIE), University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koopmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl-Bernd
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Hüttenbrink
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection / Q000379:methods; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: facial nerve palsy; parotid gland cancer; prognosis; quality of life; risk factors