Trismus and reduced quality of life in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma, who received post-operative radiotherapy alone or combined with chemotherapy
, , , , , , , , , , and | Jun 30, 2017
About this article
Published Online: Jun 30, 2017
Page range: 29 - 36
Received: Jun 07, 2017
Accepted: Aug 23, 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fco-2015-0023
Keywords
© 2017 Evangelos Galitis, Vyron Droukas, Michail Tzakis, Vassileios Psarras, Dimitra Galiti, Eythymios Kyrodimos, Miltiadis Trichas, Amanda Psyrri, Nikolaos Papadogeorgakis, Maria Kouri, Evelina Belli, Vasileios Kouloulias
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Oral radiation toxicity, end of radiotherapy, n = 10.
| n | Oral mucositis (EORTC/RTOG) | Pain (VAS) | Xerostomia (VAS) | Loss of weight (Kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | II | 6 | 6 | |
| 2. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. | III | 8 | 8 | |
| 4. | III | 7 | 6 | 4 |
| 5. | III | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| 6. | III | 10 | 10 | |
| 7. | III | 9 | 8 | |
| 8. | II | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 9. | III | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 10. | II | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Maximum mouth opening (MMO), in mm, before and after radiotherapy.
| n | Before radiotherapy, n = 10 | End of radiotherapy, n = 7 | Three months after radiotherapy, n = 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 24 | 18 | |
| 2. | 47 | ||
| 3. | 50 | 43 | |
| 4. | 36 | 23 | |
| 5. | 63 | 44 | 62 |
| 6. | 35 | 25 | 31 |
| 7. | 48 | 44 | |
| 8. | 60 | ||
| 9. | 63 | 41 | |
| 10. | 35 | ||
Epidemiological characteristics of the patients, n = 10.
| n | Gender/Age (years) | Disease stage/Site | Smoker Yes/No/Ex smoker | RT/ChemoRT | Total RT dose(Gray) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | M/54 | T2N0M0/Palate | Ex smoker | RT2 | 67,5 |
| 2. | M/71 | T2N0M0/Buccal mucosa-skin infiltration | Yes | RT2 | 61,6 |
| 3. | M/77 | /Tongue, recurrence | - | RT1 | - |
| 4. | M/77 | T4N0M0/Mandible | No | ChemoRT2 | 60,75 |
| 5. | M/37 | /Floor of mouth, recurrence | No | ChemoRT1 | - |
| 6. | M/72 | /Tongue | No | ChemoRT1 | 60 |
| 7. | M/58 | T2N0M0/Tongue, recurrence-lymph nodes | Yes | Paclitaxel-Gemcitabine/RT2 | 70 |
| 8. | M/87 | T4N1M0/Buccal mucosa | No | RT2 | 61.6 |
| 9. | M/65 | T3N2M0/Posterior tongue | No | Cisplatin-Platinol weekly/RT2 | 67,5 |
| 10. | F/40 | T1N1M0/Tongue | No | Cisplatin-Platinol weekly/RT2 | 66 |
| Mean age 63,8 | Mean total dose 64,3 Gy |
Quality of life EORTC QLQ Head and Neck35, main symptoms with score 3-4, before, at the end, and 3 months after radiotherapy.
| Symptom | Before radiotherapy, n = 10 | End of radiotherapy, n = 8 | 3 months after radiotherapy, n = 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pain in the mouth, jaw, neck | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Choked when swallowing | 3 | ||
| Problems opening the mouth wide | 2 | 2 | |
| Problems swallowing solid food | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Problems swallowing pureed food | 1 | 6 | |
| Problems swallowing liquids | 3 | 5 | |
| Problems in conversation | 3 | 6 | |
| Dry mouth | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Sticky saliva | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| Problems with your sense of smell | 1 | ||
| Problems with sense of taste | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Coughing | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Problems with social activities | 1 | 2 | |
| Feeling sick | 3 | ||
| Less physically attractive as a result of disease or treatment | 1 | 4 | |
| Problems talking to other people in public places | 1 | ||
| Hoarseness | 1 | 2 | |
| Problems with teeth | 2 | 1 | |
| Reduced interest for life/sex | 5 | 7 | 1 |
Quality of Life EORTC QLQ-C30, main symptoms with score 3 and 4, before, at the end, and 3 months after radiotherapy
| Symptom | Before radiotherapy, n = 10 | End of radiotherapy, n = 8 | 3 months after radiotherapy, n = 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fatigue | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Pain | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Limitation at work | 4 | 4 | |
| Feeling weak | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Feeling sad | 3 | 5 | |
| Family problems | 3 | 4 | |
| Trouble sleeping | 2 | 3 | |
| Anorexia | 2 | 4 | |
| Financial difficulties | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Feeling tense | 1 | 3 | |
| Feeling irritable | 1 | 3 | |
| Constipation | 1 | 3 | |
| Nausea/Vomiting | 3 | ||
| Depression | 2 | ||
| Total number of symptoms | 31 (3,1 / patient) | 51 (6,3 / patient) | |
| Very poor-poor:1-2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Low-moderate:3-4 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Good-excellent:5-7 | 5 | 1 | 1 |