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Quality of life and functional status measures in patients with head and neck cancer
L L D'Antonio1, G J Zimmerman, D F Cella
1School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Calif, USA.
Objective:
To assess the relationship among three validated head and neck-specific measures of functional status and a general measure of quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer.
Designs:
Cross-sectional study using medical chart review, patient interview, and test administration.
Setting:
Academic tertiary referral center.
Participants:
Fifty adults patients 3 months to 6 years after major surgery for head and neck cancer.
Main Outcome Measure:
Scores from a general measure of quality of life (the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy), a subscale specific to head and neck cancer, the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the Performance Status Scale for Head and Neck Cancer Patients.
Results:
The disease-specific measures of functional status correlate well with one another. However, there were low correlations between the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy and the disease-specific measures, indicating that general and disease-specific instruments contribute unique information about quality of life.
Conclusion:
A general measure of quality of life augments information obtained by disease-specific instruments by interpreting functional status in the broader scope of the patient's life.