Quality of life and utility in irradiated laryngeal cancer patients

Purpose: To determine quality of life (QOL) and health utility in irradiate d laryngeal cancer survivors. Materials and Methods: Over 6 months, consecutive follow-up patients at a c omprehensive cancer centre completed the QOL questionnaire FACT-H&N and the time trade-off (TTO) utility instrument. Results: Inclusion criteria were met by 339 patients, of whom 269 were elig ible, 245 were approached, and 120 agreed to participate. Most participants were men (83%) who had received radiotherapy (97%) for Stage I disease (53 %) of the glottis (75%); 7% had undergone total laryngectomy, Participants differed from nonparticipants only in being younger (mean age, 65 vs. 68 ye ars, p = 0.0049) and having higher performance status (Karnofsky 88 vs. 84, p = 0.0012). The average scores for FACT-H&N and the TTO were 124/144 (SD, 14) and 0.90/1.0 (SD, 0.16) respectively. FACT-H&N score was more highly c orrelated with Karnofsky score (r = 0.43, p = 0.001) than with the TTO (r = 0.29, p = 0.002). Gender predicted QOL (means: M = 125, F = 118), while na tural speech, no relapses, and more time since initial treatment predicted higher utility. Conclusion: The QOL of irradiated laryngeal cancer survivors was reasonably high and independent of initial disease variables. The QOL questionnaire c orrelated more strongly with performance status than with utility, suggesti ng that QOL and utility measures may be perceived differently by patients. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.