A prospective study on quality of life of laryngeal cancer patients treated with radiotherapy

Background: The aim of this study was to describe prospectively quality of life and mood before and after radiotherapy for laryngeal cancer. Methods: Sixty-five patients with Tis-T3 laryngeal cancer treated with radi otherapy completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Core Questionnaire, the EORTC Head and Neck Cancer module, a nd the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale before treatment a nd 6 and 12 months later. Results: There was a significant but temporary deterioration of physical fu nctioning, fatigue and most head and neck symptoms. Speech was the only sym ptom which improved. Patients with T2 tumors had significantly worse physic al symptoms compared with patients with T1 tumors. There was a high level o f depressive symptomatology at baseline, followed by an improvement after t reatment. Conclusions: After radiotherapy for laryngeal cancer, a temporary deteriora tion of physical functioning and symptoms occurs, mostly caused by side eff ects of treatment. Despite physical deterioration, there is an improvement of emotional functioning and mood after treatment, probably as a result of psychological adaptation and coping processes. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.