Table 8.

Comparison of quality of life before radiotherapy, and after 42 d of radiotherapy (x̅ ± sd)

Time	Group	Mental function	Physical function	Social function	Head and neck cancer specific module	Common symptoms and side effects	Total score
Before radiotherapy	Control group (n=46)	21.03±4.58	20.65±3.98	45.63±6.32	20.22±4.15	23.65±4.11	131.18±28.65
	Test group (n=51)	22.16±4.96	19.65±4.02	46.18±5.52	19.68±3.95	22.98±3.96	130.62±29.32
	t	1.162	1.229	0.458	0.656	0.817	0.095
	P	0.248	0.222	0.648	0.513	0.416	0.925
After 42 d of radiotherapy	Control group (n=46)	28.96±5.52***	27.69±4.42***	51.16±4.96***	23.86±5.52***	26.48±3.02***	158.15±31.05***
	Test group (n=51)	34.96±6.32***	32.35±5.52***	56.39±3.25***	27.15±2.52***	31.15±2.14***	182.00±35.78***
	t	4.956	4.557	6.200	3.838	8.853	3.489
	P	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001

Note: Paired t-test was used for the comparison in the same group before radiotherapy;

^***P<0.001.