Healthcare (Mar 2023)
Serious Long-Term Effects of Head and Neck Cancer from the Survivors’ Point of View
- Katherine J. Taylor,
- Cecilie D. Amdal,
- Kristin Bjordal,
- Guro L. Astrup,
- Bente B. Herlofson,
- Fréderic Duprez,
- Ricardo R. Gama,
- Alexandre Jacinto,
- Eva Hammerlid,
- Melissa Scricciolo,
- Femke Jansen,
- Irma M. Verdonck-de Leeuw,
- Giuseppe Fanetti,
- Orlando Guntinas-Lichius,
- Johanna Inhestern,
- Tatiana Dragan,
- Alexander Fabian,
- Andreas Boehm,
- Ulrike Wöhner,
- Naomi Kiyota,
- Maximilian Krüger,
- Pierluigi Bonomo,
- Monica Pinto,
- Sandra Nuyts,
- Joaquim C. Silva,
- Carmen Stromberger,
- Francesco Tramacere,
- Ayman Bushnak,
- Pietro Perotti,
- Michaela Plath,
- Alberto Paderno,
- Noa Stempler,
- Maria Kouri,
- Susanne Singer
Affiliations
- Katherine J. Taylor
- Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, University Medical Centre Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
- Cecilie D. Amdal
- Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
- Kristin Bjordal
- Research Support Service, Oslo University Hospital 0372 Oslo, Norway
- Guro L. Astrup
- Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
- Bente B. Herlofson
- Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, 0455 Oslo, Norway
- Fréderic Duprez
- Department of Radiotherapy-Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences—Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
- Ricardo R. Gama
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos 14784-400, SP, Brazil
- Alexandre Jacinto
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos 14784-400, SP, Brazil
- Eva Hammerlid
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 41345 Gothenburg, Sweden
- Melissa Scricciolo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Ospedale dell’Angelo, 30174 Venice, Italy
- Femke Jansen
- Department Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Irma M. Verdonck-de Leeuw
- Department Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Giuseppe Fanetti
- Division of Radiation Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy
- Orlando Guntinas-Lichius
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
- Johanna Inhestern
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
- Tatiana Dragan
- Head and Neck Unit, Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1070 Brussels, Belgium
- Alexander Fabian
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany
- Andreas Boehm
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, St. Georg Hospital, 04129 Leipzig, Germany
- Ulrike Wöhner
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, St. Georg Hospital, 04129 Leipzig, Germany
- Naomi Kiyota
- Cancer Center, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe 650-0017, Japan
- Maximilian Krüger
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery—Plastic Surgery, University Medical Centre Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
- Pierluigi Bonomo
- Radiation Oncology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, 50134 Florence, Italy
- Monica Pinto
- Rehabilitation Medicine Unit, Strategic Health Services Department, Istituto Nazionale Tumori—IRCCS—Fondazione G. Pascale, 80131 Naples, Italy
- Sandra Nuyts
- Laboratory of Experimental Radiotherapy, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Joaquim C. Silva
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Instituto Português de Oncologia Francisco Gentil do Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
- Carmen Stromberger
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Francesco Tramacere
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Azienda Sanitaria Locale, 72100 Brindisi, Italy
- Ayman Bushnak
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Gießen und Marburg, 35392 Giessen, Germany
- Pietro Perotti
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, “S. Chiara” Hospital, Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari (APSS), 38122 Trento, Italy
- Michaela Plath
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Alberto Paderno
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
- Noa Stempler
- Oral Medicine Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel
- Maria Kouri
- Dental Oncology Unit, Department of Oral Medicine and Pathology and Hospital Dentistry, Dental School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Susanne Singer
- Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, University Medical Centre Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11060906
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11,
no. 6
p. 906
Abstract
The long-term problems of head and neck cancer survivors (HNCS) are not well known. In a cross-sectional international study aimed at exploring the long-term quality of life in this population, 1114 HNCS were asked to state their two most serious long-term effects. A clinician recorded the responses during face-to-face appointments. A list of 15 example problems was provided, but a free text field was also available. A total of 1033 survivors responded to the question. The most frequent problems were ‘dry mouth’ (DM) (n = 476; 46%), ‘difficulty swallowing/eating’ (DSE) (n = 408; 40%), ‘hoarseness/difficulty speaking’ (HDS) (n = 169; 16%), and ‘pain in the head and neck’ (PHN) (n = 142; 14%). A total of 5% reported no problems. Logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, treatment, and tumor stage and site showed increased odds of reporting DM and DSE for chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) alone compared to surgery alone (odds ratio (OR): 4.7, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.5–9.0; OR: 2.1, CI: 1.1–3.9), but decreased odds for HDS and PHN (OR: 0.3, CI: 0.1–0.6; OR: 0.2, CI: 0.1–0.5). Survivors with UICC stage IV at diagnosis compared to stage I had increased odds of reporting HDS (OR: 1.9, CI: 1.2–3.0). Laryngeal cancer survivors had reduced odds compared to oropharynx cancer survivors of reporting DM (OR: 0.4, CI: 0.3–0.6) but increased odds of HDS (OR: 7.2, CI: 4.3–12.3). This study provides evidence of the serious long-term problems among HNCS.
Keywords
