Health-related quality of life measured by the UW-QoL--reference values from a general dental practice

The objective of this study was to obtain age and sex-specific reference values for the University of Washington head and neck cancer questionnaire version 4 (UW-QoLv4) and to compare this with patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Cross-sectional reference data was collected from 372 patients in six local general dental practices, 349 of whom presented for routine appointments. Quota sampling was used to collect data for similar numbers of patients by gender by four age bands (40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79 yr). The longitudinal sample consisted of 450 consecutive patients undergoing primary surgery for previously untreated oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma presenting to the Regional Maxillofacial Unit Liverpool, between the years 1995 and 2002. At baseline the key differences were anxiety, pain, swallowing, chewing, and mood. At 1yr there were big differences in all domains with deterioration in the oral cancer group. The difference was least notable in pain, shoulder, mood and anxiety. Reference data from a non-cancer population is very important when considering UW-QoL domains as an outcome parameter in clinical trials and also when discussing health-related quality of life outcomes with patients and their families.