Assessment of the quality of life of patients with terminal stages of oral oncological diseases

BACKGROUND: The morbidity and mortality rates of oral cavity cancers have increased in recent years. Numerous publications establish the impact of disease and treatment on the quality of life of patients with this pathology. Only few studies of the relationship between overall quality of life and quality of life relevant to oral health are known.

AIM: A study of health-relevant quality of life in patients with the terminal stages of oral oncological diseases.

METHODS: The study of the quality of life of patients with oral oncological diseases was performed using questionnaires «Functional assessment of cancer therapy — head and neck, version 4» (FACT-H&N 4) and «The World Health Organization Quality of Life 100» (WHOQOL-100). The study included 112 patients based on random sampling. The mean age was (66.5±3.5) years (p <0.05), most of them were men (76.7%). All respondents were diagnosed at late (III–IV) stages of the disease.

RESULTS: When assessing physical well-being using the FACT-H&N 4 questionnaire, the majority of respondents showed decreased scores in the domains: Physical well-being, Emotional well-being, Well-being in daily life. When assessing quality of life using the WHOQOL-100 questionnaire, there is a decrease in the average values of quality of life indicators in the domains and subdomains of the questionnaire, determined by the somatic state of the respondents. Respondents recorded higher average values of quality of life indicators in the areas and sub-areas where quality of life was determined by personal characteristics of the patient and social support available to the patients.

CONCLUSION: The somatic and social determinism of the patients' quality of life indicators, using FACT-H&N 4 and WHOQOL-100 questionnaires was established. The authors revealed the correspondence between the quality of life indicators of patients using the FACT-H&N 4 and the WHOQOL-100 questionnaires.