Table 3.
EORTC QLQ-H&N35 multi-item symptom scale scores at the cycle 3 assessment
| QLQ-H&N35 scale | Statistic | Platinum–fluorouracil + cetuximab (n = 152) | Platinum–fluorouracil alone (n = 137) | Difference in LS means (95% CI) | P value | Difference in LS means adjusted for baseline (95% CI) | P value |
| Pain | LS mean score (n)a | 25.79 (80) | 37.68 (63) | −11.89 (−19.79 to −3.99) | 0.0034 | −11.91 (−20.70 to −3.11) | 0.0083 |
| Swallowing problems | LS mean score (n)a | 36.88 (79) | 51.01 (60) | −14.12 (−23.54 to −4.71) | 0.0035 | −14.44 (−24.03 to −4.84) | 0.0034 |
| Speech problems | LS mean score (n)a | 39.15 (78) | 51.11 (59) | −11.96 (−21.16 to −2.76) | 0.0112 | −14.07 (−23.25 to −4.89) | 0.0029 |
| Social eating problems | LS mean score (n)a | 40.31 (79) | 50.89 (57) | −10.58 (−20.60 to −0.57) | 0.0384 | −11.86 (−21.67 to −2.04) | 0.0182 |
There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment arms in the outcomes for the other items on the multi-item symptom scale: sense, social contact, and sexuality. Note that higher scores for symptom scales indicate worse symptoms.
a
Patients without missing covariates in the multivariate mixed model.
CI, confidence interval; EORTC QLQ-H&N35, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Head and Neck 35; LS, least squares.