Quality of life of patients with laryngeal carcinoma: a post-treatment study

This study was designed to determine the quality of life of patients successfully treated for laryngeal cancer. A questionnaire was mailed to 233 patients. A total of 124 responses were suitable for analysis. The questionnaire consisted of three components: sociodemographic data, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (QLQ - C 30, version 2.0), and EORTC QLQ, Head and Neck Module (H & N 35). The assessment included five treatment groups: chordectomy, partial laryngectomy, irradiation as primary therapy, laryngectomy, laryngectomy and radiotherapy. The evaluation for the functional scales of the EORTC QLQ - C 30 resulted in a higher quality of life of patients with maintained larynx in comparison to laryngectomised patients. In the symptom scales, patients after laryngectomy and/or radiotherapy suffered more from fatigue, pains and appetite loss. Laryngectomees stated more financial difficulties. The evaluation of the ENT-specific EORTC module showed that patients after laryngectomy had more symptoms. Typical symptoms after radiotherapy were a dry mouth, sticky saliva and coughing. Noticeably, no differences existed among the several groups with regard to voice production. The EORTC QLQ- H & N 35 does not appear to be sensitive enough to assess this parameter.