Quality Of Life Of H&N Cancer Patients After Prosthetic Rehabilitation

Objectives: Progress in treatment of oral cancer has made it possible to reduce the post-treatment mortality and the survival rate was increased. Maxillofacial rehabilitation is the last step in the treatment of head and neck cancer trying to return to pre-illness function. Quality of life in patients treated for head and neck cancer is an important outcome parameter in the post-treatment follow-up. The aim of the study was to examine how does the quality of life of head and neck cancer patients decay after treatment (operation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy), how we can improve it with maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation and by which failured function we have the best results. Methods: 92 head and neck cancer patients were rehabilitated after tumor treatment between 1991 and 2010 at the University of Szeged, Faculty of Dentistry, at the Department of Maxillofacial Rehabilitation. 59 patients completed two quality of life questionnaires /one of the University of Washington (UW- QOL) and the other of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (H&N35)/first after treatment but before rehabilitation, second time after maxillofacial rehabilitation. We made statistical comparison from the answers. Results: In comparison of results UW-QOL and EORTC H&N35 before and after rehabilitation, eating and speech was the huge problem before rehabilitation, and we could improve all of damaged function with prosthetic methods significantly. Conclusions: Quality of life of head and neck cancer patients decreases after treatment because of the damage important function such as eating, swallowing, speech, aesthetic. Failure of speech and eating means the highest problem for patients before rehabilitation. With methods of maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation we have improved all of the decayed functions significantly.