Abstract 901: Quality of life among oropharyngeal cancer survivors

Abstract

Purpose: Oropharyngeal cancer incidence continues to increase in the United States. Studies on the quality of life (QOL) experienced by oropharyngeal cancer patients usually assessed QOL one year after diagnosis instead of in the long term, and most were hospital-based. The aim of this study is to assess oral health and QOL in oropharyngeal cancer survivors in a population-based cohort over a long term follow-up. Methods: First primary oropharyngeal cancer patients, with confirmed cancer diagnosis from 1996 to 2016 were identified in the Utah Cancer Registry. Between January and May of 2019, the patients completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-HN >70 is considered a high level of functioning and Results: Among 262 oropharyngeal cancer survivors, 84.0% were male, 74.7% were sixty and older at cancer diagnosis, 21.8% were overweight (µ=26.5 (sd=4.9) kg/m2). More than half of participants had seen a dentist within the last 6 months (65.8%) and were former smokers (51.1%). The global QoL means scores for 1996-2000, 2001-2005, 2006-2010, and 2011-2016 were 77.5 (sd=16.3), 73.4 (sd=17.6), 67.3 (sd=24.1), and 73.4 (sd=20.4). Both the global QoL mean score (72.0 (sd=20.8)) and the OHIP-14 mean score (13.2 (sd=13.9)) were fairly high. Similarly, individual QoL physical, role, emotional, cognitive, and social mean scores from the QLQ-30 were also fairly high, ranging from 77.8 to 85.9. From the EORTC HN 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 901.