Subjective voice quality, communicative ability and swallowing after definitive radio(chemo)therapy, laryngectomy plus radio(chemo)therapy, or organ conservation surgery plus radio(chemo)therapy for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer

This retrospective analysis focusses on the impact of therapy on perceived long-term post-cancer treatment function. A validated questionnaire including items and components for the assessment of communicative ability, quality of voice and swallowing was sent to 129 patients. All patients were treated between 1998 and 2007. A total of 76 patients (58.9%) with carcinoma of the larynx or hypopharynx replied to the questionnaire. Data was evaluated retrospectively. Therapy delivered was definitive radio(chemo)therapy (defchRT/RT) (21/76, 28%), laryngectomy + radio(chemo)therapy (LE + chRT/RT) (28/76, 37%), or larynx conservation surgery + radio(chemo)therapy (LCS + chRT/RT) (27/76, 36%). Radiotherapy was administered using 2D- or 3D-conformal planning. The most common concomitant chemotherapy delivered was cisplatin + 5FU. For statistical analyses of the components, averages were calculated and tested using the Kruskal–Wallis test and the U-test of Mann and Whitney. Differences were assessed by the Monte Carlo method or Fisher's exact test. The single item rates were compared with Fisher's exact test. Mean follow-up was 56.7 months (range, 8–130 months). After defchRT/RT, patients trended towards more substantial–strong hoarseness compared with LCS + chRT/RT (P = 0.2). After LE, patients were dissatisfied with their artificial larynx/electrolarynx and the tone of their voice (P = 0.3, P = 0.07) and communicative ability (P = 0.005, P = 0.008) compared with thos...
Source: Journal of Radiation Research - Category: Physics Authors: Tags: Oncology Source Type: research