ABSTRACT

Background and Aim: Various kinds of cancer can negatively affect the quality of life in patients and can indirectly affect the therapeutic results. The current study was enrolled to assess the quality of life in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and identify the associated factors to be used for improving the quality of life in patients. This was done on patients referring to Imam Khomeini Cancer Institute, 2012-13.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive research, 100 patients with OSCC were enrolled 3 months after the end of diagnostic and therapeutic stages when they were in follow-up stage. They were interviewed using EORTC QLQ- H&N35 questionnaire which its validity and reliability was affirmed by Cronbach’s α=0.858. The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions concerning 8 indices (pain, swallowing status, sense of taste, speech, feeling of malaise, social communication, eating in public and sexual desire). At the same time, patients were interviewed and the clinico-demographic characteristics form was completed for each of them. Then, the relation between these indices of quality of life and the studied variables was assessed using Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results: As the stage of illness advanced, the quality of life declined in most factors (P<0.05). Women were found to have lower quality of life than men regarding swallowing status, pain, and feeling of malaise (P=0.01). The patients who had OSCC on tongue, lips and buccal mucosa had lower quality of life in terms of swallowing and speaking (P=0.004 and 0.005, respectively). The type of treatment affected the indices of swallowing and feeling of malaise. (P=0.04 and 0.007, respectively). 

Conclusion: It seems that the site of tumor and the type of treatment play role in reducing the quality of life of patients with OSCC but advancement in stage of illness was found to be the most important index in decreasing the quality of life.