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Quality of life, craniomandibular function, and psychosocial factors related to pain and movement in patients with head and neck cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

To describe the characteristics of and the associations between health-related quality of life, pain, craniomandibular function, and psychosocial factors related to pain and fear of movement in patients with head and neck cancer.

Methods

Seventy-eight patients diagnosed with HNC were recruited. Measurements of the maximum mouth opening range and pressure pain thresholds on the masseter muscle and the distal phalanx of the thumb were conducted, as well as a battery of self-report questionnaires were administrated, including the QoL Questionnaire (EORT QLQ-H&N35), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the Spanish translation of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia for Temporomandibular Disorders (TSK-TMD), and the short version of the Craniofacial Pain and Disability Inventory (CF-PDI-11).

Results

The study sample (66.7% men, mean age 60.12 [11.95] years) experienced a moderate impact on their QoL levels (57.68 [18.25] EORT QLQ-H&N35) and high kinesiophobia values (20.49 [9.11] TSK-TMD). Pain was present in 41% of the patients, but only 3.8% reported severe pain. 26.4% had a restricted mouth opening range, and 34.62% showed significant catastrophism levels. There were strong positive correlations between EORT QLQ-H&N35 and CF-PDI-11 (r = 0.81), between NRS and CF-PDI-11 (r = 0.74), and between PCS and CF-PDI-11 (r = 0.66).

Conclusion

Patients with HNC experience negative effects in their QoL, related to their impairment in craniomandibular function. Fear of movement, pain intensity, and catastrophism are associated with poorer functionality; relationships that should be considered when attempting to improve health care.

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Data availability

Data supporting the conclusions of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Funding

The CSEU La Salle has funded the English edition of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiotherapy, Centro Superior de Estudios Universitarios La Salle, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle La Salle, 10, 28023, Madrid, Spain

    Beatriz Arranz-Martín, David Rouco-García & Carlos Fernández-Oliva

  2. CranioSPain Research Group, Centro Superior de Estudios Universitarios La Salle, 28023, Madrid, Spain

    Beatriz Arranz-Martín & Alfonso Gil-Martínez

  3. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, La Paz University Hospital, 28046, Madrid, Spain

    José L. del-Castillo-Pardo-de-Vera & José L. Cebrián-Carretero

  4. Physiotherapy Unit, La Paz-Carlos III University Hospital (IdiPAZ), 28046, Madrid, Spain

    Alfonso Gil-Martínez

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  1. Beatriz Arranz-Martín
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by JLD-P, JLC-C, CR-G and CF-O. Data control and interpretation were performed by BA-M and AG-M. Manuscript preparation and editing were written by CR-G, CF-O, BA-M and AG-M. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Beatriz Arranz-Martín.

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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of HULP (PI-1923).

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The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the images in Figure(s) 1 a 2.

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Arranz-Martín, B., del-Castillo-Pardo-de-Vera, J.L., Cebrián-Carretero, J.L. et al. Quality of life, craniomandibular function, and psychosocial factors related to pain and movement in patients with head and neck cancer. Support Care Cancer 32, 334 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08518-y

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