Assessing patient‐reported symptom burden of long‐term head and neck cancer survivors at annual surveillance in survivorship clinic
Thomas G. Townes, Sriram Navuluri, Kristen B. Pytynia, Gary Brandon Gunn, Mona Kamal, Katherine Ramsey Gilmore, Patricia Chapman, Katherine V. Bell, Danielle M. Fournier, Monica A. Janik, Liza Maria Joseph, Sara Zendehdel, Katherine A. Hutcheson, Ryan P. Goepfert
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study reports long-term head and neck cancer (HNC) patient-reported symptoms using the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory Head and Neck Cancer Module (MDASI-HN) in a large cohort of HNC survivors. METHODS: , Mann-Whitney, and univariate regression. RESULTS: Nine hundred and twenty-eight patients were included. Forty-six percent had oropharyngeal primary tumors. Eighty-two percent had squamous cell carcinoma. Fifty-six percent of patients had ablative surgery and 81% had radiation therapy as a component of treatment. The most severe symptoms were xerostomia and dysphagia. Symptom scores were worst for hypopharynx and varied by subsite. Patients treated with chemoradiation or surgery followed by radiation ± chemotherapy reported the worst symptoms while patient treated with surgery plus radiation ± chemotherapy reported the worst interference. CONCLUSION: HNC survivors describe their long-term symptom burden and inform efforts to improve care many years into survivorship.