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Voice outcomes after radiotherapy treatment for early glottic cancer: assessment using multidimensional tools
Jessica R L Bibby1, Susan M Cotton, Alison Perry
1School of Human Communication Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria 3086, Australia.
Background:
This is the first prospective study to use instrumental and both clinician- and client-rated auditory-perceptual measures to examine voice and voice-related quality of life changes in patients after curative radiotherapy for early glottic cancer.
Method:
Thirty patients undergoing curative radiotherapy treatment for early glottic cancer completed the following: 3 voice tasks for acoustic, aerodynamic, and auditory-perceptual voice measures (therapist-rated); a patient self-report rating of voice quality; and a voice-related quality of life assessment before and 12 months after radiotherapy.
Results:
Patients' perceptions of their voice quality and their voice-related quality of life significantly improved posttreatment, as did acoustic, aerodynamic, and auditory-perceptual voice measures. Mean speaking fundamental frequency did not change significantly, although breathiness and strain in the voice recordings were demonstrably reduced.
Conclusion:
In describing postradiotherapy voices in this study, pertinent measures of voice outcomes have been established, setting the benchmark for comparison in future cohort studies.
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