Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the postoperative QOL(Quality of Life) of Chinese laryngeal cancer patients who have undergone a partial or total laryngectomy, and to analyze their prognostic factors, as well as to assess the feasibility of using the University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL) questionnaire in QOL studies of laryngeal cancer patients.
METHODS Using the UW-QOL questionnaire, a survey was conducted in patients treated by a partial or total laryngectomy for laryngeal cancer.
RESULTS Questionnaires were sent to 142 patients who were diseasefree for more than half a year after surgery. Replies were received from 130 patients (91% response rate) with 118 patients completing the questionnaire. These patients were divided into 2 groups: a partial-laryngectomy group (n=81; excluding cordectomy) and a total-laryngectomy group (n=37). The composite QOL scores of the partial-laryngectomy group (692.3±127.9) were higher than those of total-laryngectomy group (636.4±140.0), showing a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The partial-laryngectomy group (74.3±23.8; 80.9±20.3) was better than the total-laryngectomy group (40.3±25.8; 69.6±27.1) in speech and appearance (P<0.001; P<0.05); but the total-laryngectomy group (92.6±13.0) was superior to the partial-laryngectomy group (83.0±20.5) in pain (P<0.01). Six factors including cancer stage, operative modality, complications, postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy, living partners and chronic disease before or after operation were related to postlaryngectomy QOL.
CONCLUSION Partial laryngectomy is superior to total laryngectomy in speech, appearance and overall QOL. Besides operative modality, cancer stage, complications, postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy, living partners and chronic diseases before or after operation are factors influencing postlaryngectomy QOL. As a whole, the UW-QOL questionnaire is a good instrument for studying QOL of laryngeal cancer patients in China, and it can be used to explore the QOL outcomes obtained from different reconstructive techniques.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Morton RP, Izzard ME. Quality-of-life outcomes in head and neck cancer patients. World J Surg. 2003;27:884–889.
D’Antonio LL, Zimmerman GJ, Cella DF, et al. Quality of life and functional status measures in patients with head and neck cancer. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1996;122:482–487.
Fei SZ, Shi YX, Wang EL, et al. Analysis of survival rate in 278 patients undergoing partial laryngectomy. Chin J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg (Chinese). 1986;21:281–283.
Deleyiannis FW, Weymuller EA, Coltera MD. Quality of life of disease-free survivors of advanced (stage III or IV) oropharyngeal cancer. Head Neck. 1997;19:466–473.
De Boer MF, McCormick LK, Pruyn JFA, et al. Physical and psychosocial correlates of head and neck cancer: a review of the literature. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1999;120:427–436.
Vartanian JG, Carvalho AL, Yueh B, et al. Long-term quality-of-life evaluation after head and neck cancer treatment in a developing country. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004;130:1209–1213.
Deleyiannis FW, Weymuller EA, Coltrera MD, et al. Quality of life after laryngectomy: are functional disabilities important? Head Neck. 1999;21:319–324.
De Boer MF, Pruyn JFA, Van den Borne B, et al. Rehabilitation outcomes of long-term survivors treated for head and neck cancer. Head Neck. 1995;17:503–515.
LoTempio MM, Wang KH, Sadeghi A. Comparison of quality of life outcomes in laryngeal cancer patients following chemoradiation vs. total laryngectomy. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005;132:948–953.
Terrell JE. Quality of life assessment in head and neck cancer. Hematol Oncol Clin Nor Am. 1999;13:849–865.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, G., Ji, W. Investigation of QOL after laryngectomy using the UW-QOL questionnaire with chinese patients. Chin. J. Clin. Oncol. 3, 96–101 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11805-006-0081-5
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11805-006-0081-5