Head and neck cancer, quality of life and determinant factors: a novel approach using decision tree analysis

Publication date: Available online 22 August 2018

Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology

Author(s): Niebla Bezerra de Melo, Ítalo de Macedo Bernardino, Daniela Pita de Melo, Daliana Queiroga Castro Gomes, Patrícia Meira Bentoe

Abstract

Objective

The goal of the present study was to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients under treatment for head and neck cancer, as well as to identify factors associated.

Study design

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 102 patients under treatment for head and neck cancer at two medical centers. Participants answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the Medical Outcomes Study 36 (SF-36) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) to assess HRQoL and OHRQoL, respectively. Clinical aspects, cancer staging, and treatment approach were also investigated. Descriptive and multivariate statistics using Decision Tree Analysis by the Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) algorithm were performed.

Results

The Decision Tree revealed that reduced quality of life is associated with the clinical staging (adjusted p-value = 0.035), patient's sex (adjusted p-value = 0.028) and treatment approach (adjusted p-value = 0.032). Females diagnosed with advanced head and neck cancer that underwent radiotherapy or chemotherapy were more likely to exhibit lower rates of quality of life.

Conclusions

The results suggest that sociodemographic characteristics, clinical staging and treatment approach can exert influence on the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer.

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