Table 3.
Change in PSS-HN from initial assessment within 90 days of treatment to follow-up assessment within 6 months for overall survival
| Normalcy of Diet (n=493) | No. of Patiens | HR | 95% CI | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Highly impaired, no change | 33 | 3.32 | (1.91, 5.77) | <0.001 |
| *Declined to highly impaired | 28 | 3.60 | (2.02, 6.42) | <0.001 |
| Improved from highly impaired | 33 | 1.38 | (0.82, 2.31) | 0.221 |
| *Moderately impaired, no change | 61 | 2.49 | (1.58, 3.92) | <0.001 |
| *General decline | 49 | 2.60 | (1.67, 4.05) | <0.001 |
| General improvement | 116 | 0.98 | (0.66, 1.45) | 0.908 |
| Modestly impaired, no change | 120 | 1.12 | (0.76, 1.65) | 0.580 |
| Not impaired, no change | 53 | 1 | ref | |
| Public Eating (n=474) | ||||
| *Highly impaired, no change | 16 | 3.56 | (1.96, 6.47) | <0.001 |
| *Declined to highly impaired | 25 | 1.82 | (1.03, 3.21) | 0.038 |
| Improved from highly impaired | 14 | 1.29 | (0.67, 2.51) | 0.446 |
| *Moderately impaired, no change | 116 | 1.47 | (1.07, 2.00) | 0.017 |
| *General decline | 58 | 1.79 | (1.26, 2.54) | 0.001 |
| General improvement | 94 | 0.78 | (0.57, 1.08) | 0.132 |
| Modestly impaired, no change | 32 | 0.97 | (0.61, 1.54) | 0.886 |
| Not impaired, no change | 119 | 1 | ref | |
| Understandability of Speech (N=481) | ||||
| *Highly impaired, no change | 18 | 2.30 | (1.26, 4.21) | 0.007 |
| *Declined to highly impaired | 36 | 3.01 | (2.02, 4.48) | <0.001 |
| *Improved from highly impaired | 16 | 2.12 | (1.21, 3.70) | 0.008 |
| *Moderately impaired, no change | 36 | 1.99 | (1.31, 3.03) | 0.001 |
| General decline | 27 | 1.09 | (0.68, 1.73) | 0.734 |
| General improvement | 28 | 1.04 | (0.67, 1.63) | 0.852 |
| Not impaired, no change | 320 | 1 | ref |
Abbreviations: RTOG=radiation therapy oncology group, PSS-HN=Performance Status Scale for Head and Neck cancer patients, HR=hazard ratio, CI=confidence interval, ref=referent group
HRs adjusted for age, sex, race, assigned treatment, tumor stage and grade, tumor site, Karnofsky performance, patient toxicity, smoking status, marital status, education level, income level, PSS-HN administrator and dates of assessments
*
Denotes high-risk group