Assessing patient‐reported symptom burden of long‐term head and neck cancer survivors at annual surveillance in survivorship clinic. Issue 8 (29th February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Townes, Thomas G.; Navuluri, Sriram; Pytynia, Kristen B.; Gunn, Gary Brandon; Kamal, Mona J.; Gilmore, Katherine R.; Chapman, Patricia H.; Bell, Katherine V.; Fournier, Danielle M.; Janik, Monica A.; Joseph, Liza M.; Zendehdel, Sara; Hutcheson, Katherine A.; Goepfert, Ryan P.
• Is Part Of: Head & neck. Volume 42:Issue 8(2020)
• Page Start: 1919
• Page End: 1927
• Publication Date: 2020-02-29
• Subjects: Head -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Neck -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Head -- Periodicals; Neck -- Periodicals; Face -- Periodicals; 617.51059
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.26119
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1043-3074

Abstract

Abstract: Background: This study reports long‐term head and neck cancer (HNC) patient‐reported symptoms using the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory Head and Neck Cancer Module (MDASI‐HN) in a large cohort of HNC survivors. Methods: MDASI‐HN results were prospectively collected from an institutional survivorship database. Associations with clinicopathologic data were analyzed using χ 2, Mann‐Whitney, and univariate regression. Results: Nine hundred and twenty‐eight patients were included. Forty‐six percent had oropharyngeal primary tumors. Eighty‐two percent had squamous cell carcinoma. Fifty‐six percent of patients had ablative surgery and 81% had radiation therapy as a component of treatment. The most severe symptoms were xerostomia and dysphagia. Symptom scores were worst for hypopharynx and varied by subsite. Patients treated with chemoradiation or surgery followed by radiation ± chemotherapy reported the worst symptoms while patient treated with surgery plus radiation ± chemotherapy reported the worst interference. Conclusion: HNC survivors describe their long‐term symptom burden and inform efforts to improve care many years into survivorship.