Quality-of-life after radiotherapy for advanced laryngeal cancer: Results of a phase III trial of the Dutch Head and Neck Society

Geert O. Janssens*, Johannes A. Langendijk, Chris H. Terhaard, Patricia A. Doornaert, Piet Van Den Ende, Martin A. De Jong, Robert P. Takes, Paul N. Span, Johannes H. Kaanders

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Background/purpose To report on health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) of patients with laryngeal cancer, treated in a randomized trial comparing accelerated radiotherapy with carbogen and nicotinamide (ARCON) against accelerated radiotherapy alone (AR). Material/methods HRQoL was assessed using the HRQoL Questionnaire-C30 (QLQ-C30) and the Head & Neck cancer module (QLQ-H&N35) at baseline, at completion of radiotherapy and at 6, 12, and 24 months post-baseline. Results From 269/345 patients (AR: 136/174; ARCON: 133/171) data on HRQoL were available for analysis. Moderate to severe clinical impact of the treatment was observed for nearly all items of the QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 between baseline and end-of-treatment. At 6 months, scores returned to baseline level with exception of dry mouth, sticky saliva, and taste/smell. No difference between AR and ARCON was observed. At 2 years from baseline, the percentage of patients reporting moderate to severe complaints of dry mouth, sticky saliva, or changes in taste/smell was 30%, 22% and 18%, respectively, while the majority of patients had no or few complaints of swallowing (79%) or speech (64%). Conclusions With accelerated radiotherapy, high local tumor control was obtained while maintaining good speech and swallowing function. Long-term dry mouth, sticky saliva and changes in taste/smell are limited to one quarter of patients. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00147732).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)213-220
Number of pages8
JournalRadiotherapy & Oncology
Volume119
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2016

Keywords

  • Accelerated radiotherapy
  • ARCON
  • Laryngeal cancer
  • Quality-of-life
  • Randomized trial

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