Changes of perioperative cognitive function and its effect on quality of life in laryngeal cancer

Few studies have been published on the cognitive function and its relationship with quality of life (QoL) in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) undergoing surgery.

This study aimed to assess the association between changes in cognitive function perioperatively with QoL among patients with LSCC.

This was a prospective study. Eighty-eight cases with LSCC treated with radical surgery were assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and EORTC QLQ-C30. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 software.

The MoCA scores were 24.78 ± 2.42 before surgery and 23.02 ± 3.06 after surgery (p < 0.001). Correspondingly, 39 patients (44.32%) had cognitive impairment before surgery, and 47 patients (53.41%) had cognitive impairment after surgery. Age (p = 0.003) and preoperative anxiety (p = 0.016) were independent factors related to preoperative cognitive dysfunction, while age (p = 0.023), postoperative anxiety (p = 0.041), operation mode (p = 0.05, p = 0.016 respectively) and preoperative MoCA score (p = 0.008) were associated with postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Patients with cognitive impairment postoperatively had poorer QOL in the score of the overall health function scale (p = 0.030).

LSCC patients exhibit a high prevalence of cognitive dysfunction, which significantly associated with reduced overall QoL. Age, postoperative anxiety, operation mode, and preoperative MoCA score were significantly associated with postoperative cognitive dysfunction.