Table 4.
EORTC QLQ-H&N35-score for head and neck cancer patients before and after intervention and 3-year follow-up, and reference data from 3 years head and neck cancer survivors and a normative age-and sex-matched sample
| EORTC QLQ-H&N35 |
Before intervention | After intervention | 36-months follow-up | HNC3 # | Norm # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symptom 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) |
| Local pain | 5 | 39.4 (32–47) | ns | 30.0 (23–37) | 33.8 (27–41) | ns | 15.4 (11–20) | 28.9 (22–36) | ** | 14.5 (19.8) | 3.0 (9.4) |
| Swallowing | 43.6 (36–51) | 38.8 (31–47) | ns | 32.3 (25–39) | 35.4 (27–44) | ns | 18.4 (12–24) | 38.5 (30–47) | *** | 10.9 (19.6) | 2.0 (7.2) |
| Senses | 37.0 (30–44) | 39.7 (32–48) | ns | 26.7 (19–34) | 32.0 (25–39) | ns | 17.0 (11–23) | 32.2 (24–40) | ** | 20.5 (27.4) | 5.8 (16.1) |
| Speech | 30.9 (24–38) | 28.0 (21–35) | ns | 19.1 (13–25) | 25.4 (19–32) | ns | 9.2 (5–14) | 28.9 (21–37) | *** | 12.1 (19.1) | 6.1 (13.2) |
| Social eating | 45.4 (37–54) | 42.3 (35–50) | ns | 31.8 (25–38) | 42.3 (34–50) | ns | 14.9 (10–20) | 39.9 (31–49) | *** | 11.7 (22.6) | 2.7 (10.0) |
| Social contact | 19.6 (12–27) | 16.4 (10–22) | ns | 10.0 (5–15) | 16.0 (10–23) | ns | 2.7 (1–4) | 24.5 (17–32) | *** | 7.6 (14.7) | 3.8 (10.6) |
| Sexuality | 56.6 (47–66) | 59.7 (49–71) | ns | 45.1 (34–56) | 47.3 (37–58) | ns | 25.0 (17–33) | 44.6 (34–55) | * | 28.8 (36.3) | 26.1 (33.6) |
| Teeth problems | 24.0 (16–32) | 24.7 (16–33) | ns | 20.7 (13–29) | 29.9 (21–39) | ns | 12.1 (6–18) | 35.7 (25–47) | *** | 21.4 (32.3) | 10.1 (21.4) |
| Opening mouth | 44.0 (37–51) | 45.3 (37–54) | ns | 30.7 (21–40) | 45.3 (37–54) | ** | 15.6 (10–21) | 46.5 (36–57) | *** | 17.6 (29.3) | 1.8 (10.8) |
| Dry mouth | 79.3 (72–87) | 82.7 (75–91) | ns | 71.3 (63–80) | 78.2 (70–87) | ns | 52.2 (42–62) | 75.2 (67–84) | *** | 47.3 (36.3) | 12.3 (22.3) |
| Sticky saliva | 66.7 (56–77) | 69.4 (60–79) | ns | 54.7 (45–65) | 62.6 (53–73) | ns | 32.6 (25–41) | 55.8 (46–65) | *** | 18.6 (28.4) | 6.9 (17.5) |
| Coughing | 32.0 (22–42) | 30.0 (21–39) | ns | 28.0 (19–37) | 32.0 (22–42) | ns | 17.7 (12–24) | 31.8 (22–42) | * | 17.3 (24.6) | 16.8 (24.4) |
| Feeling ill | 31.3 (22–41) | 29.3 (21–37) | ns | 20.7 (12–29) | 22.9 (14–31) | ns | 11.3 (6–17) | 30.2 (21–40) | ** | 10.8 (20.0) | 11.3 (21.5) |
| Pain killers | 67.3 (54–81) | 62.0 (48–76) | ns | 42.0 (28–56) | 40.0 (26–54) | ns | 27.7 (14–41) | 44.2 (26–62) | ns | No data | No data |
ns, not statistically significant; I, intervention group; C, control group; CI, 95% confidence interval; EORTC QLQ-H&N35, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck 35; HNC, head and neck cancer. # HNC3 = HNC patients survivors at 3 years, Norm = a normative age- and sex-matched sample [19]. Score range 0–100 points. 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
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001