Quality of life assessment in head and neck cancer patients

Patient-oriented QOL evaluation has become a useful adjunct to the more traditional measures used to assess the effectiveness of new therapies. In the future, it will be especially important to assess QOL outcomes of newer multimodality therapies and of conventional therapies in head and neck oncology, particularly those that are expensive or labor-intensive. Promising areas for QOL research include assessments of therapies for which survival rates are similar, but patient-oriented QOL outcomes or cost may differ greatly, such as treatment of oropharyngeal cancer or early glottic cancer, organ preservation strategies, and free flap reconstruction of surgical defects. Finally, valid QOL information will help oncologists understand their patients' physical and emotional impairments better and therefore better assess, treat, and rehabilitate patients with head and neck cancer.