Explorative study on quality of life in relation to salivary secretion rate in patients with head and neck cancer treated with radiotherapy.

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) to the head and neck region often results in oral complications. In this explorative study, the pretreatment and posttreatment (6 months and 12 months) quality of life (QOL) was analyzed for patients with head and neck cancer. The associations between QOL and salivary secretion rates were analyzed.

Methods: In 29 patients (19 men and 10 women; mean age, 59 ± 8 years), the stimulated whole salivary secretion and buccal minor gland secretion were measured. The patients completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30-questions (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 Head and Neck 35-questions (EORTC-QLQ-C30-H&N35) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Results: One year after the completion of RT, patients with hyposalivation (≤0.7 mL/min) reported clinically meaningful, but not statistically significant differences, in cognitive functioning, insomnia, swallowing, social eating, dry mouth, sticky saliva, and use of painkillers. Statistically significant differences were found for emotional functioning, sticky saliva, and dyspnea (p < .05). Thirty-three percent of them had a HADS score suggesting anxiety problems, compared with 8% for those with whole stimulated salivary secretion rates >0.7 mL/min.

Conclusion: RT in the head and neck region, also using intensity-modulated RT, is associated with many aspects of life, such as cognitive functioning, insomnia, dry mouth, and sticky saliva, especially for those with hyposalivation.