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Assessing head and neck cancer patient outcome domains
L H Karnell1, G F Funk, H T Hoffman
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, Room E230 GH, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1078, USA. lucy-karnell@uiowa.edu
Background:
The purpose of this study was to assess the relative importance on patients' lives of multiple outcomes resulting from the management of head and neck cancer (HNC).
Methods:
HNC patients filled out a disease-specific quality of life (QOL) survey covering 5 domains (speech, eating, aesthetics, pain/discomfort, and social/role functioning). Logistic regression was used to determine which of these domains best predicted the patients' response to a single, overall QOL assessment.
Results:
In univariate analyses, all 5 domains were significantly correlated to QOL (p<.0001), with correlation coefficients ranging from.48 for eating to.64 for social/role functioning. Logistic regression indicated that speech and eating best predicted QOL (R(2) =.4647), with odds-ratios of 2. 96 for speech and 2.49 for eating.
Conclusions:
These data demonstrated that, for this group of patients, speech has the most impact on well-being, whereas eating has a substantial, unrelated influence. This is important information in counseling patients about treatment plans that have different levels of impairment.