In the News

Study Evaluates Long-Term Health-Related Quality of Life in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

January 16 2012

CHICAGO – Eating problems due to poor throat (oropharyngeal) functioning and persistent pain appear to be the most prevalent problems faced by long-term survivors of head and neck cancer, suggests a study published Online First by the Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The study by Gerry F. Funk, MD, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, reports that over 50 percent of these survivors had problems eating, 28.5 percent reported depressive symptoms and 17.3 percent reported substantial pain. However, the average general health of the long-term survivors was equivalent to age-matched norms from the general population.

“Early interventions addressing eating issues, swallowing problems and pain management will be a crucial component in improving this patient population’s long-term QOL [quality of life], especially in those who are functioning poorly one year after diagnosis,” researchers conclude.

The study included 337 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer between January 1995 and December 2004, who enrolled in the Outcomes Assessment Project and survived at least five years. Researchers note that relatively few studies have evaluated long-term health-related quality of life outcomes five or more years from diagnosis in patients with head and neck cancer.

Researchers highlight that their study, along with others, demonstrate that poor oral (mouth) and oropharyngeal (throat) function was a persistent problem in long-term survivors that can be due to neuromuscular changes, anatomic deficits after surgery, pain, dental deficits and other factors.

“In addition, poor swallowing function may exert more than a detrimental effect on HRQOL [health-related quality of life],” the study notes. Unrecognized aspiration after chemoradiation may contribute to death.

The study results also indicate that at long-term follow-up, 13.6 percent of the survivors continued to smoke and 38.9 percent used alcohol. Multivariate analyses shows that pain and diet in the first year were the strongest independent predictors of five-year, health-related quality of life outcomes.

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