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Postoperative quality of life and therapy-related impairments of oral cancer in relation to time–distance since treatment

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Abstract

Purpose

Oral cancer resection can cause physical and psychological impairments that influence the quality of life (QoL). Depending on the postoperative time–distance, the occurrence and intensity of these impairments may change. We evaluated the sequelae and changes in therapy-related impairments during the postoperative course to detect associations between the time since surgery and the presence of disorders.

Methods

Data from a questionnaire completed by 1359 patients who underwent surgical treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma and were involved in a multicenter rehabilitation study of the German–Austrian–Swiss Cooperative Group on Tumors of the Maxillofacial Region (DÖSAK) that included 43 oral and maxillofacial clinics in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were retrospectively analyzed.

Results

Physical impairments, including those in appearance, mouth opening ability, ability to smell, gastric disorders, mandible mobility, breathing, and shoulder/arm mobility, were significantly associated with and increased with time–distance since surgery. Esthetic appearance most strongly correlated with the highest perception of worsening. Regarding psychological disorders, worry about tumor recurrence, depression, and worse prospects were significantly associated. Among the postoperative sequelae, fear of tumor recurrence decreased continuously; however, depression and worse prospects increased. The general QoL did not significantly differ overall during the postoperative course.

Conclusions

Therapy-related impairments change during the postoperative course based on the time–distance since surgery. The general QoL may not markedly vary; however, single impairments, to some extent, can increase or decrease.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Continuous adaptation of supportive cancer therapy is required during follow-up to sufficiently address individual treatment needs.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the DÖSAK and all of the following participating clinics of oral and maxillofacial surgery for collecting the study-related data: Basel, Berlin (Steglitz), Berlin (Virchow), Bochum, Bonn, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Erfurt, Erlangen, Essen, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Greifswald, Halle, Hannover, Heidelberg, Homburg-Saar, Innsbruck, Kiel, Cologne, Krefeld, Linz, Lübeck, Mainz, Marburg, Munich (LMU), Münster, Osnabrück, Recklinghausen, Regensburg, Rostock, Saarbrücken, Siegen, Suhl, Ulm, Würzburg, and Zürich. We also thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany

    Philipp Jehn, Simon Spalthoff, Fritjof Lentge, Alexander-Nicolai Zeller, Frank Tavassol, Fabian Matthias Eckstein, Nils-Claudius Gellrich & Philippe Korn

  2. Department of Oral, Craniomaxillofacial and Facial Plastic Surgery, University Hospital of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Michael-Tobias Neuhaus

  3. Department of Medical Psychology, Ruhr University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Gertrud Krüskemper

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  1. Philipp Jehn
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Contributions

Writing — original draft preparation: Philipp Jehn; Data analysis and investigation: Philipp Jehn, Simon Spalthoff, Fritjof Lentge, Alexander-Nicolai Zeller, Michael-Tobias Neuhaus, Fabian Matthias Eckstein; Methodology: Frank Tavassol, Gertrud Krüskemper, Nils-Claudius Gellrich, Philippe Korn; Creation of tables and figure: Alexander-Nicolai Zeller, Michael-Tobias Neuhaus, Fabian Matthias Eckstein; Writing — review and editing: Philipp Jehn, Simon Spalthoff, Fritjof Lentge, Frank Tavassol, Fabian Matthias Eckstein; Conceptualization: Gertrud Krüskemper, Nils-Claudius Gellrich, Philippe Korn; Supervision: Nils-Claudius Gellrich, Philippe Korn. All authors have reviewed the manuscript and agreed to the submission.

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Correspondence to Philipp Jehn.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Ruhr University of Bochum. No specific approval number was assigned to this study.

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All participants of the DÖSAK Rehabilitation study provided written informed consent for study participation and agreed to the scientific use of their data.

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Jehn, P., Spalthoff, S., Lentge, F. et al. Postoperative quality of life and therapy-related impairments of oral cancer in relation to time–distance since treatment. J Cancer Surviv 16, 1366–1378 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-021-01118-3

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