Oral health and quality of life among patients with head and neck cancer or haematological malignancies

The aim of the present study was to monitor the health-related quality of l ife (HRQOL) of patients with head and neck cancer or haematological maligna ncies during a period from before to after medical treatment, and to invest igate the relationships between patient experiences of oral symptoms and HR QOL. The sample consisted of 41 consecutive patients. At the start, during and end of radiotherapy or the second/third cycle of chemotherapy, patients rated their experiences of oral symptoms on a 100-mm. visual analogue scal e and completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Can cer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ) C30 and the EORTC QLQ H&N35 ( head and neck patients). At the end of treatment, an interview was done reg arding the perceived influence of oral status on HRQOL. Among patients rece iving radiotherapy, HRQOL tended to decrease over time, and oral symptoms i ncreased. Patients who reported that their oral symptoms had influenced the ir everyday life (56%) reported more severe oral symptoms and lower HRQOL s cores at the end of treatment when the oral symptoms were most intense. The findings from correlational analyses support the patients' reports from th e interviews. For patients receiving chemotherapy for haematological malign ancies, the quality of life did not change during the chemotherapy cycle. T hey reported very few oral symptoms, and very few reported that oral sympto ms had any influence on their HRQOL. However, the correlational data indica te a relation between oral symptoms and HRQOL. Patients who reported more s evere oral symptoms also reported lower HRQOL scores. The results demonstra te that oral status is related to HRQOL in these patient groups.