title: Long-term late toxicities and quality of life for survivors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy versus non-intensity-modulated radiotherapy.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate late toxicities and quality of life (QOL) of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with long-term survival after treatment by intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) versus non-IMRT.
  
  
  
  An observational, cross-sectional study of QOL and late toxicities was conducted in 242 patients with NPC with survival of >5 years after treatment with IMRT (n = 100) or non-IMRT (n = 142) by using physician-assessed toxicities (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [CTCAE] version 4) and the patient-reported European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30-questions (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Head and Neck 35-questions (EORTC QLQ-C30-H&N35) module.
  
  
  
  The IMRT group had both statistically (p < .05) and clinically (difference of predicted mean scores ≥10 points) better outcome in global QOL, cognitive functioning, social functioning, fatigue, and 11 scales of the head and neck module. Late toxicities, including neuropathy, hearing loss, dysphagia, xerostomia, and neck fibrosis were significantly less severe in the IMRT group. Multivariate analysis revealed that the radiotherapy (RT) technique was statistically significantly associated with late toxicities and QOL outcome after adjusting for other clinical and demographic variables.
  
  
  
  The use of the IMRT technique was associated with the improvement of physician-assessed late toxicities and patient-reported QOL in NPC survivors. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1026-E1032, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Oncology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tai-Lin
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Yen
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.affiliation: Department of Cosmetics and Fashion Styling, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuan-Cho
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shang-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin-Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dean Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronics Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsair-Fwu
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fu-Min
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated; D017741:Survivors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC); intensity-modulated radiotherapy; late toxicity; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; quality of life