Quality of life in advanced maxillary sinus cancer after radical versus conservative maxillectomy

A study of patients with advanced maxillary sinus cancer who underwent radical or conservative maxillectomy was performed to show the differences between the 2 groups in patients' survival rate and quality of life (QOL).

A total of 61 advanced maxillary sinus cancer patients from Weifang People's Hospital in China were traced: 27 radical maxillectomy and 34 conservative maxillectomy. Survival rate was compared between the 2 groups. Quality of life assessments were performed at the time of preoperation as well as 6, 12, and 18 months after the operation. Measures included the University of Washington-QOL scale (UW-QOL) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

The UW-QOL scale scores of the composite score, appearance, activity, recreation, swallowing, speech, and chewing in the conservative surgical group were much higher than those in the radical surgical group. However, there is no big difference in total survival rate between these 2 groups. Also, no significant difference can be seen in the scores of pain, employment, and shoulder between the 2 groups. At the 6-month follow-up, the radical maxillectomy had more effects on anxiety than the conservative maxillectomy, while they are almost equally effective on depression. The 12-month and 18-month follow-ups showed that the radical maxillectomy made a greater impact on both anxiety and depression than the conservative maxillectomy.

Conservative maxillectomy is more effective than radical maxillectomy to preserve the QOL of patients with advanced maxillary sinus cancer.