Quality of life in head and neck cancer: Patients’ and family caregivers’ perceptions

As the Quality of Life (QoL) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) is a significant aspect, outcomes are increasingly important to understand. We report the social/emotional and physical function outcomes in a cohort of surviving patients with HNC treated with primary surgery and/or chemoradiotherapy. Patients and methods: Fifty-six patients with HNC treated with primary surgery and/or chemoradiotherapy, and their caregivers were identified between November 2016 and June 2017. University of Washington Quality of life (UWQoL) and EuroQoL (EQ-5D-5L) health questionnaires were given to all patients and caregivers. A paired t test was performed to compare the difference in the results of questionnaires between patients and caregivers. Results: The analysis showed no significant difference between the responses of patients and caregiver, except for the anxiety domain. In the UWQoL questionnaire, patients scored higher in anxiety than caregivers (p = .023). On the contrary, in the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire, the anxiety/depression score was higher in caregivers than patients (p = .019). Conclusions: Both patients and caregivers agreed in the perception of patients’ quality of life. This final outcome supports the use of the questionnaires. The only domain that differed was the anxiety domain. The concept of anxiety may be more difficult to define due to its heterogeneity. Moreover in the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire anxiety is put together with depression, which probably is a more complex concept to look at.