Quality of Life and Associated Factors among Post-Treatment Oral SquamousCell Carcinoma Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the EORTC QLQ-H&N35

Vollständiger Abstract

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Objective: To evaluate quality of life among post-treatment OSCC patients and identify clinical and treatment-related factors affecting quality-of-life outcomes using the EORTC QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Darul Sehat Hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi, over six months after institutional approval. A total of 70 post-treatment OSCC patients were included using non-probability convenience sampling.Results: Most patients were male and married, with a large proportion belonging to the low socioeconomic group. Patients with buccal mucosa tumors had significantly higher difficulty in swallowing, dry mouth, pain, anxiety, and weight loss scores compared with other tumor sites. Stage IV disease was associated with significantly worse swallowing difficulty, pain, anxiety, and weight loss. Restricted mouth opening was significantly associated with poorer scores in swallowing, dry mouth, mouthopening, sticky saliva, pain, chewing, anxiety, and weight loss. Patients receiving surgery plus radiotherapy reported significantly worse quality-of-life scores than those treated with surgery alone, particularly for swallowing difficulty, dry mouth, pain, chewing, anxiety, and weight loss.Conclusion: Quality of life among post-treatment OSCC patients was significantly affected by tumor site, tumor stage, mouth-opening status, and treatment modality. Patients with advanced disease, restricted mouth opening, buccal mucosa involvement, and combined treatment experienced greater symptom burden. Targeted supportive care focusing on pain control, oral function, nutrition, and psychological support is recommended to improve post-treatment quality of life.