Patients' concerns at 10 years following head and neck cancer treatment
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Eftychia Bellou1, Sarah Hargreaves2, Stu Toms3
1Bristol Dental School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom. eftychia.bellou@bristol.ac.uk.
Purpose:
Patients experience profound functional, psychological and social impacts following head and neck cancer (HNC) diagnosis and treatment. These impacts can generate concerns that patients wish to discuss during post-treatment consultations. Although these concerns have been reported in the first five years after diagnosis, there is little information regarding the concerns reported by survivors in the longer -term. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to report patient concerns 10-years following the diagnosis and treatment of oral cavity, oropharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
Methods:
We conducted a descriptive analysis of 10-year follow-up data from the Head and Neck 5000 (HN5000) cohort summarising Patient Concerns Inventory (PCI) responses across clinical subgroups.
Results:
Of the 5,421 participants, 2,513 were alive at 10-years; 1,035 returned the questionnaire, with 661 selecting at least one PCI concern or healthcare professional. The most frequent concerns were dry mouth (43%), swallowing (42%), fear of recurrence (33%), dental health (32%), and chewing (29%). These concerns were present across early and late-stage oral, oropharyngeal, laryngeal sites, though subtle differences were observed. Although all 18 multi-professionals were selected, the two most frequent were dentist (36%) and Speech and Language Therapy (23%).
Conclusion:
A broad range of patient-prioritised concerns were reported by HNC survivors 10 years following treatment. As survival rates in HNC improve there will be an increasing number of patients living with the long-term consequences of cancer and its treatment. Thus, healthcare resources and support need to be focused on addressing those that concern patients most.
