Evaluation of the quality of life of patients with oral cancer in Brazil.
Open Access
- 1 December 2006
- journal article
- Published by FapUNIFESP (SciELO) in Brazilian Oral Research
- Vol. 20 (4), 290-296
- https://doi.org/10.1590/s1806-83242006000400002
Abstract
This study performed a field trial of a Portuguese version of the University of Washington quality of life questionnaire (UW-QOL, 3rd version), aiming at appraising its ability to identify different patterns of health-related quality of life of patients with oral cancer in Brazil. Patients (N = 100) were interviewed as they were undergoing treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma at a large Brazilian hospital ("Hospital das Clínicas", School of Medicine, University of São Paulo). The results were compared based on categories of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. At a one-year follow-up, 20 patients had died, and 24 were considered dropouts. The remaining patients accounted for the longitudinal assessment of modifications in the self report of quality of life. Patients with larger tumours and neoplasms in the posterior part of the mouth presented significantly (p < 0.05) poorer indications of quality of life. Chewing was the poorest rated domain (35.0/100.0), and presented the highest proportion of complaints both at the baseline and at the follow-up assessments. The questionnaire allowed the identification of important contrasts (while comparing clinical characteristics) and similarities (while comparing socio-demographic status) among subsets of respondents, and it can contribute to reduce the impact of treatments and improve subsequent patient management.Keywords
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- The epidemiology of oral and pharynx cancer in BrazilOral Oncology, 2002
- Analysis of the Performance Characteristics of the University of Washington Quality of Life Instrument and Its Modification (UW-QOL-R)JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 2001
- Preserved salivary output and xerostomia-related quality of life in head and neck cancer patients receiving parotid-sparing radiotherapyOral Oncology, 2000
- Comparison of cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx worldwide: etiological cluesOral Oncology, 1999
- A comparison between the University of Washington Head and Neck Disease-Specific Measure and the Medical Short Form 36, EORTC QOQ-C33 and EORTC Head and Neck 35Oral Oncology, 1998
- The World Health Organization quality of life assessment (WHOQOL): Development and general psychometric propertiesSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 1998
- The impact of surgery for oral cancer on quality of life as measured by the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36Oral Oncology, 1998
- Changes in quality-of-life scores in a population of patients treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neckHead & Neck, 1996
- Assessment of Quality-of-Life OutcomesThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1996
- Quality of Life Assessment: International PerspectivesPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1994