Publication
Title
Quality of life in oropharyngeal cancer : a structured review of the literature
Author
Abstract
Purpose To summarize the literature on quality of life (QoL) in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Methods The PubMed database was searched using the inclusion criteria "oropharyngeal cancer," "quality of life," "human," and "English," the exclusion criterion "recurrent," and publication date between January 1, 2005 and October 26, 2015. Results The search yielded 98 articles of which 17 fulfilled all selection criteria. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) showed a better outcome for several QoL domains and was superior to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in some studies. At 12 month follow up, deterioration of QoL was seen in a smaller proportion of patients after surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (S&PORT) in comparison to CRT. For all treatment modalities, the most important worsening for several QoL domains was seen at 3 months. Stage III/IV patients experienced a greater deterioration of QoL scores for most scores. No consistent results were reported for the correlation between xerostomia assessed with QoL questionnaires and objective swallowing function assessed with modified barium swallow videofluoroscopy. Conclusion The different tools used for the assessment of patient-reported QoL and objective measurement of functional outcome make it difficult to evaluate the effect of different treatment modalities. In general, we can conclude that a non-surgical approach is associated with worse QoL scores. IMRT minimizes radiation to the surrounding tissue and therefore has a better outcome in several QoL domains in comparison to conventional RT.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Supportive care in cancer. - Berlin, 1993, currens
Publication
New york : Springer , 2018
ISSN
0941-4355 [print]
1433-7339 [online]
DOI
10.1007/S00520-018-4227-9
Volume/pages
26 :8 (2018) , p. 2511-2518
ISI
000436242800007
Pubmed ID
29725802
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 02.08.2018
Last edited 02.10.2024
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