Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 20, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Health-Related Quality of Life in Oral Cancer Patients: Scoping Review and Critical Appraisal of Investigated
Davide De Cicco1, Gianpaolo Tartaro2, Fortunato Ciardiello3
1Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131 Naples, Italy.
Background:
health-related quality of life (HRQOL) represents a secondary endpoint of medical interventions in oncological patients. Our aim was to highlight potential sources of bias that could be encountered when evaluating HRQOL in oral cancer patients.
Methods:
this review followed PRISMA-ScR recommendations.
Participants:
patients treated for oral cancer.
Concept:
HRQOL assessed by EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35/QLQ-H&N43. A critical appraisal of included studies was performed to evaluate the accuracy of data stratification with respect to HRQOL determinants.
Results:
overall, 30 studies met the inclusion criteria, totaling 1833 patients. In total, 8 sociodemographic (SDG) and 15 disease/treatment-specific (DT) HRQOL determinants (independent variables) were identified. The mean number of the independent variables was 6.1 (SD, 4.3)-5.0 (SD, 4.0) DT-related and 1.1 (SD, 1.8) SDG-related variables per article. None of the included papers considered all the identified determinants simultaneously.
Conclusions:
a substantial lack of evidence regarding HRQOL determinants was demonstrated. This strongly weakens the reliability of the reported findings due to the challenging presence of baseline confounding, selection, and omitted variable biases. The proposed approach recommends the use of further evaluation tools that gather more variables in a single score together with a selection of more homogeneous, reproducible, and comparable cohorts based on the identified baseline confounding.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Cancer Survival Analysis
01:26Assessment of the Mouth
Mouth Inspection
The inspection begins with visually examining the mouth for symmetry, color, and size.
01:21Dimensions of Health and Illness
01:29Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System II: Health Perception Pattern
Health Perception Patterns
Health perception patterns offer valuable insights into a patient's lifestyle habits and how they may impact their GI health. These patterns include:
01:20Lifestyle Factors and Health
Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity, whether through structured exercise or casual activities like walking, biking, or dancing, is a cornerstone of a...
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...