Table 3.
EORTC QLQ-C30-score for trismus head and neck cancer patients before and after intervention and at 3-year follow-up, and reference data from 3 years head and neck cancer survivors and a normative age-and sex-matched sample
| Before intervention | After intervention | 36-months follow-up | HNC3 # | Norm # | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Functional scales | I, n = 50 Mean (CI) |
C, n = 50 Mean (CI) |
p | I, n = 50 Mean (CI) |
C, n = 50 Mean (CI) |
p | I, n = 47 Mean (CI) |
C, n = 43 Mean (CI) |
p |
n = 133 Mean (SD) |
n = 562 Mean (SD) |
| Physical function | 73.9 (69–79) | 72.7 (66–79) | ns | 83.7 (80–88) | 79.6 (74–85) | ns | 90.1 (86–94) | 76.4 (70–83) | ** | 85.6 (21.2) | 88.9 (18.1) |
| Role function | 46.0 (36–56) | 52.3 (43–61) | ns | 61.7 (53–71) | 63.7 (55–72) | ns | 92.9 (89–97) | 61.6 (51–72) | *** | 83.3 (30.1) | 86.5 (24.8) |
| Emotional function | 70.3 (64–77) | 72.0 (65–79) | ns | 82.9 (77–88) | 75.5 (68–83) | ns | 85.5 (81–90) | 71.9 (64–80) | ** | 85.0 (18.7) | 84.6 (20.1) |
| Cognitive function | 76.0 (71–82) | 76.0 (68–84) | ns | 82.7 (76–89) | 75.3 (68–83) | ns | 86.9 (82–92) | 75.2 (67–83) | * | 87.0 (16.5) | 86.9 (18.1) |
| Social function | 56.7 (48–65) | 61.0 (52–70) | ns | 70.7 (63–79) | 67.3 (59–76) | ns | 91.8 (88–96) | 66.7 (56–77) | *** | 86.0 (22.2) | 89.5 (20,6) |
| Global QL | 54.2 (49–60) | 58.0 (53–63) | ns | 66.3 (61–72) | 57.2 (51–63) | * | 82.6 (79–86) | 49.8 (42–57) | *** | 73.2 (21.3) | 76.5 (22.0) |
| Fatigue | 49.6 (43–57) | 45.0 (37–53) | ns | 34.0 (26–42) | 36.3 (29–44) | ns | 18.7 (13–24) | 38.5 (29–48) | *** | 22.8 (22.9) | 19.7 (21.4) |
| Nausea/vom | 15.7 (10–21) | 13.0 (7–19) | ns | 9.3 (3–16) | 8.33 (3–13) | ns | 2.8 (1–5) | 13.6 (6–21) | ** | 3.1 (9.0) | 3.3 (11.0) |
| Pain − 25.5 | 36.3 (28–45) | 36.0 (29–44) | ns | 21.7 (15–29) | 27.0 (20–34) | ns | 11.0 (7–15) | 28.3(21–36) | *** | 14.9 (20.7) | 17.7 (24.6) |
| Dyspnea | 36.7 (29–45) | 37.3 (29–46) | ns | 24.0 (18–30) | 25.3 (18–33) | ns | 15.6 (10–21) | 31.0 (21–41) | * | 17.8 (23.9) | 16.5 (24.1) |
| Insomnia | 24.0 (17–31) | 32.7 (24–42) | ns | 23.3 (17–30) | 21.1 (14–29) | ns | 17.7 (10–25) | 35.7 (25–46) | ** | 18.8 (26.4) | 16.5 (24.9) |
| Appetite loss | 49.3 (40–59) | 46.3 (37–56) | ns | 36.1 (26–46) | 35.3 (26–45) | ns | 12.1 (5–19) | 29.3 (19–40) | ** | 11.7 (25.1) | 3.4 (12.7) |
| Constipation | 26.0 (17–35) | 24.0 (16–32) | ns | 14.0 (6–22) | 16.7 (9–25) | ns | 11.3 (4–19) | 14.0 (7–21) | ns | 10.8 (21.9) | 5.0 (16.0) |
| Diarrhea | 10.7 (5–16) | 12.0 (6–18) | ns | 17.0 (9–25) | 10.0 (5–16) | ns | 7.1 (2–12) | 16.3 (9–24) | * | 3.8 (11.4) | 5.1 (15.9) |
| Financial Problems | 19.3 (12–26) | 30.0 (20–40) | ns | 13.3 (6–20) | 29.3 (19–40) | * | 9.2 (2–16) | 31.8 (20–44) | ** | 11.6 (25.2) | 6.6 (19.7) |
ns, not statistically significant; I, intervention group; C, control group; CI, 95% confidence interval; EORTC QLQ C30, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30; Score range 0–100 points. High scores for a functional scale and the global quality of life scale represent high level of functioning or high level of global quality of life. High scores for a single item represent high level of symptoms. P values for analysis of statistical significant difference in mean scores between the intervention group and the control group, before and after intervention and at 3-year follow-up. #HNC3 = 3 years HNC patients survivors and norm = a normative age- and sex-matched sample [19].
******p < 0.05, p < 0.01,p < 0.001