Quality of life in long-term oral cancer survivors: an 8-year prospective study in China.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the prospective study was to evaluate the long-term changes in quality of life (QOL) in patients with oral cancer and to examine the potential factors that predicted QOL at 8 years after treatment.

STUDY DESIGN: Seventy-one patients were evaluated by the University of Washington quality of life scale. QOL in 30 long-term survivors was assessed at diagnosis and at the 3-month, 1-year, and 8-year follow-up.

RESULTS: QOL was found to be better among survivors compared with nonsurvivors at the 1-year follow-up. Levels of pain, mood, and anxiety showed clinically and statistically significant improvements between diagnosis and at 8 years following treatment, whereas problems with chewing, speech, shoulder mobility, and taste worsened during this interval (P < .05). From 1 to 8 years, patients reported clinically significant improvements with regard to appearance, recreation, speech, saliva, and anxiety. Among the 11 sociodemographic, disease-, or treatment-related factors, age and tumor site were associated with long-term QOL.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the QOL among patients with oral cancer was generally favorable in the long term, the changed patterns in different domains over time should be noted. Improved QOL between the 1-year and the 8-year follow-up demonstrated the dynamics of QOL after 1 year and justified ongoing follow-up beyond the 1-year observation point.