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Self-perception of fatigue in individuals diagnosed with head and neck cancer

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Abstract   

Purpose

Head and neck cancer (HNCa) presents numerous challenges secondary to treatment. While there is substantial clinical awareness to the range of challenges demonstrated in this population, information on the impact of post-treatment fatigue is limited. This study investigated the degree of perceived fatigue in those treated for HNCa.

Methods

The study was a cross-sectional, self-report, survey design. Adult participants (n = 47) completed a series of three questionnaires; two validated fatigue measures – the Fatigue Screening Inventory (FSI) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) and a general health-related quality of life measure the European Organisation of Research on the Treatment of Cancer – Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQC30) and the head and neck site specific module (QLQ - H&N 35) were administered.

Results

Of the 47 participants, more than half (55%) were identified as having clinically significant self-reported levels of fatigue. Correlational analysis revealed an inverse relationship between fatigue and overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL) implying that as fatigue increases, one’s perceived HRQOL decreases.

Conclusions

These data suggest that efforts to proactively screen for and index fatigue and seek anticipatory interventions may benefit both short- and long-term HRQOL outcomes in those diagnosed with HNCa.

Level of Evidence: IV.

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Acknowledgements

Portions of this work were completed while the senior authors (G.M.S. and P.C.D.) were affiliated with the Laboratory for Well-Being and Quality of Life at the University of Western Ontario.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Grace M. Spiro

  2. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, 801 Welch Road, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Philip C. Doyle

  3. Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Philip C. Doyle, Kevin Fung, Danielle MacNeil, Anthony Nichols & John Yoo

  4. Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, Elborn College, London, ON, Canada

    Nedeljko Jovanovic & Melissa Nash

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  1. Grace M. Spiro
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Contributions

Conceptualization was undertaken by G.M.S. and P.C.D.; all authors contributed to the design of the study, as well as data collection and its analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by G.M.S. and P.C.D. and all authors read and provided comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved of the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philip C. Doyle.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

This study was reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Board of the University of Western Ontario.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all study participants prior to their agreement to participate in this research. All participants were informed about the purpose of this research project and that their agreement for participation was fully voluntary.

Consent for publication

All authors confirm that ethical approval confirmed that all participants provided informed consent relative to the publication of the data obtained as part of this research.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors have any relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Grace M. Spiro and Philip C. Doyle - first authorship is shared equally

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Spiro, G.M., Doyle, P.C., Jovanovic, N. et al. Self-perception of fatigue in individuals diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Support Care Cancer 31, 465 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-07936-8

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