Quality of life following surgical treatment of oral cancers.
BACKGROUND
Quality of life (QoL) studies provide information about the impact of disease, the treatment of symptoms, and outcomes following treatment. The present study aims to evaluate the postoperative QoL of patients treated for oral cancer in a Nigerian government tertiary hospital.


METHODS
A prospective study on consenting patients with oral cancer was undertaken at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. The subjects completed the University of Washington QoL (UW-QoL) questionnaire one day prior to surgery and postoperatively after 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months.


RESULTS
Sixty-eight patients with oral cancer were recruited. Of these, 38 were males, and 30 were females (male : female, 1.3 : 1). Twenty-four patients (12 males and 12 females) underwent surgery and completed postoperative QoL assessment using the UW-QoL questionnaire. Preoperative QoL mean score was 2.21, while postoperative mean scores after 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months were 3.67, 3.46, 2.82, and 2.61, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
An improvement in QoL following surgical treatment for patients with oral cancer was observed. 'Appearance,' 'recreation,' and 'chewing' were identified as the most important determinants of postoperative QoL in patients with oral cancer in our study.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. ; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
Akinwale Adeyemi
AA
Efunkoya
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. ; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
Raphael Adetokunbo
RA
Adebola
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. ; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
Kelvin Uchenna
KU
Omeje
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. ; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
Ibiyinka Olushola
IO
Amole
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. ; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria.
Benjamin Idemudia
BI
Akhiwu
Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
Daniel Otasowie
DO
Osunde
Oral cancer; Quality of life; Surgery