Work

The effect of neck dissection on quality of life after chemoradiation

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine differences in quality of life (QOL) between patients with head and neck cancer who receive chemoradiation versus chemoradiation and neck dissection. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted at two tertiary otolaryngology clinics and a Veterans Administration hospital. SAMPLE: 103 oropharyngeal patients with Stage IV squamous cell carcinoma treated via chemoradiation +/- neck dissection. INTERVENTION: self-administered health survey to collect health, demographic, and QOL information pretreatment and 1 year later. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: QOL via SF-36 and HNQoL. Descriptive statistics were calculated for health/clinical characteristics, demographics, and QOL scores. t tests evaluated changes in QOL over time. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients underwent chemoradiation and 38 patients underwent chemoradiation and neck dissection. Only the pain index of the SF-36 showed a significant difference between groups (P < 0.05) with the neck dissection group reporting greater pain. CONCLUSIONS: After post-treatment neck dissection, patients experience statistically significant decrement in bodily pain domain scores, but other QOL scores are similar to those of patients who underwent chemoradiation alone.

Source: Otolaryngology

DOI: 10.1016/j.otohns.2008.07.007

Authors: Amy Anne Donatelli‐Lassig, Sonia A. Duffy, Karen E. Fowler, David L. Ronis, Douglas B. Chepeha, Jeffrey E. Terrell