Links to Quality of Life for Survivors of Head and Neck or Prostate Cancer
Patient age and marital status are linked to quality of life, such as sexual function and spiritual well being, for long-term survivors of head and neck or prostate cancer, according to a new study presented November 6, 2001, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
This study focused on patients who were alive more than four years after registering to participate in a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) clinical trial. Potential prostate cancer or head and neck cancer survivors were identified in the RTOG database and by institutions that agreed to participate in the study. All eligible prostate cancer and head and neck cancer survivors were given an informed consent and a survey. The survey consisted of questionnaires on quality of life, insurance issues, mood, sexual function, alcohol and tobacco use, and mental status.
To date, 460 survivors were approached from 40 institutions. Sixty percent of these patients (276 patients) have signed the informed consent. Twenty-one percent of the participants are head and neck cancer survivors while 79 percent are prostate cancer survivors. Sixteen percent of prostate cancer survivors are African-American while 12 percent of the head and neck cancer survivors are African-American. The current average age for prostate cancer survivors is 75 compared to 65 for head and neck cancer survivors. Prostate cancer survivors were less likely to be current smokers than head and neck cancer survivors (8 percent compared to 15 percent) were.
In head and neck cancer survivors, age was associated with speech impairment as 61 percent of survivors over 65 had normal speech compared to 88 percent for patients under age 65. However, elderly head and neck cancer survivors reported less disfigurement and greater spiritual well being than younger survivors did.
"Survivors over age 65 that had head and neck cancer had less chronic effects of disease and treatment than their younger counterparts," said Charles Scott, Ph.D., lead author of the study. "They also had greater spiritual well-being than their younger counter parts."
Compared to prostate cancer survivors, head and neck cancer survivors reported greater distress from illness and anger. Head and neck cancer survivors also reported more sexual dysfunction than prostate cancer survivors did. In prostate cancer survivors, married survivors had greater sexual dysfunction than non-married survivors did.
"Survivors of head and neck cancer had greater sexual dysfunction than prostate cancer survivors, likely linked to their younger age," Dr. Scott added. "In addition, sexual function was of greater interest to married patients; therefore, of greater consequence with dysfunction. Younger patients report more long-term effects of disease and treatment, which may be linked to their greater expectations and demands on functioning."
If you would like a copy of the abstract titled "Age and Marital Status Linked to Quality of Life of Long-Term Survivors of Head and Neck or Prostate Cancer: Report from a Survey of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Patients" or to speak to the lead author of the study, Charles Scott, Ph.D., please call Katherine Egan Bennett at the ASTRO Press Room at the Moscone Convention Center at (415) 978-3717 or e-mail her at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can call Lesley Nevers at ASTRO's headquarters at (703) 227-0141 or e-mail her at [email protected] for more information.
ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 6,700 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer and other diseases.
###
RSS