Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
Project summary
Background: Head and neck malignancies and their treatments affect a variety of central body functions, most notably breathing, swallowing, and speaking. Therefore, head and neck cancer can cause significant physical, emotional, and social problems, reducing quality of life (QoL) considerably. However, little is known about head and neck cancer survivors’ QoL in the long-term and about potential late toxicities beyond the usual five years of aftercare.
Methods: Head and neck cancer survivors were invited for a clinical visit and they completed the EORTC QLQ-C30, the EORTC QLQ-H&N35, and additional validated questionnaires for assessing their supportive care needs and care use.
Results: Twenty-six sites in 11 countries enrolled 1113 survivors (median time since diagnosis: 8y). Toxicity could be clinically assessed for 1094 of them and QoL for 1105. After adjusting for age, sex, tumour site, and UICC stage, there was evidence for meaningful differences (10 points or more) in QoL between treatment groups in seven domains (Fatigue, Mouth Pain, Swallowing, Senses, Opening Mouth, Dry Mouth, Sticky Saliva). Survivors who had single modality treatment had better or equal QoL in every domain compared to survivors with multi-modal treatment, with the largest differences for Dry Mouth and Sticky Saliva. About 68% of the participants had at least one moderate or severe late toxicity. Overall, the most frequent late toxicities at any grade were dry mouth (67%), soft tissue fibrosis (52%), dysphagia (51%), and voice alterations (39%). 50% of the survivors had unmet supportive care needs, especially unmet head and neck cancer-specific (40%), psychological (25%), and physical and daily living (22%) needs.
Conclusions: Head and neck cancer survivors experience various toxicities as well as QoL impairments in the long-run. About half of them report unmet care needs. Further details can be found in the respective published papers.
Achievements
This study is now closed.
Publications
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Taylor KJ, Amdal CD, Bjordal K, Astrup GL, Herlofson BB, Duprez F, Gama RR, Jacinto A, Hammerlid E, Scricciolo M, Jansen F, Verdonck-de Leeuw IM, Fanetti G, Guntinas-Lichius O, Inhestern J, Dragan T, Fabian A, Boehm A, Wöhner U, Kiyota N, Krüger M, Bonomo P, Pinto M, Nuyts S, Silva JC, Stromberger C, Specenier P, Tramacere F, Bushnak A, Perotti P, Plath M, Paderno A, Stempler N, Kouri M, Grégoire V, Singer S; EORTC Quality of Life Group and the EORTC Head and Neck Group. Long-term health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer survivors: A large multinational study. Int J Cancer. 2024 May 15;154(10):1772-1785. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34861. Epub 2024 Feb 5. PMID: 38312044.
- Taylor KJ, Amdal CD, Bjordal K, Astrup GL, Herlofson BB, Duprez F, Gama RR, Jacinto A, Hammerlid E, Scricciolo M, Jansen F, Verdonck-de Leeuw IM, Fanetti G, Guntinas-Lichius O, Inhestern J, Dragan T, Fabian A, Boehm A, Wöhner U, Kiyota N, Krüger M, Bonomo P, Pinto M, Nuyts S, Silva JC, Stromberger C, Tramacere F, Bushnak A, Perotti P, Plath M, Paderno A, Stempler N, Kouri M, Singer S. Serious Long-Term Effects of Head and Neck Cancer from the Survivors’ Point of View. Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Mar 21;11(6):906. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11060906. PMID: 36981562; PMCID: PMC10048748.