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Health-related quality of life in patients with major salivary gland carcinoma

  • Head and Neck
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European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the health-related quality of life (QOL) in patients with major salivary gland carcinoma (MSGC).

Methods

45 patients with MSGC completed the University of Washington Quality of Life (UWQOL) questionnaire. Results and factors influencing quality of life were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U test.

Results

24 patients were male, 21 patients were female, and median age was 57 years. 33 patients presented with early stage (UICC stage I or II) cancer. All patients had surgery as initial therapy. The UWQOL domains with the worst results were ‘appearance’, ‘activity’ and ‘anxiety’. Factors influencing QOL were sex, tumor stage, comorbidities, follow-up time, tumor grade, postoperative radiation therapy and facial nerve dysfunction.

Conclusions

Diagnosis and treatment of MSGC has influence on overall QOL. Postoperative radiation has the greatest impact on QOL. This is one of the largest study evaluating QOL in patients with salivary gland carcinoma using the UWQOL.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Centre Freiburg, Killianstrasse 5, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Christoph Becker, Jens Pfeiffer, Kitty Lange & Kilian Konrad Kenjiro Dahlem

Authors
  1. Christoph Becker
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  2. Jens Pfeiffer
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  3. Kitty Lange
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  4. Kilian Konrad Kenjiro Dahlem
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christoph Becker.

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Conflict of interest

The authors state that they have no conflicts of interest.

Research involving human participants

Patients with major salivary gland carcinoma completed the ‘University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire’.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Trial registration: Registered on German Clinical Trials Register (http://www.drks.de/DRKS00010048).

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Becker, C., Pfeiffer, J., Lange, K. et al. Health-related quality of life in patients with major salivary gland carcinoma. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 275, 997–1003 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-018-4914-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-018-4914-7

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