Predicting Quality of Life in Hypopharynx and Larynx Cancer

Abstract

Objective: 1) To identify independent predictive factors of quality of life (QOL) and depression in advanced-stage (III/IV) hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancer. 2) To construct a clinical prediction rule of QOL and depression in this population using multivariate analyses.

Method: A historical cohort study will be conducted on stage III and IV hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancer patients at least 12 months after diagnosis. We require 77 patients according to sample size calculations. We will evaluate QOL and depression using 3 validated questionnaires: EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-HN35, and HADS. HPV status will be evaluated using PCR on tissue samples. The following factors will be evaluated: site, sub-site, TNM classification, stage, comorbidities, age, sex, pretreatment depression, malnutrition, neutrophil count, hemoglobin, treatment type, locoregional, specific, and global survival. Bivariate analyses will identify long-term predictors of QOL and depression (t test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient). Multivariate linear regression will identify the factors with independent significance and will be used to construct a clinical prediction rule.

Results: We expect to identify several significant predictors of long-term QOL in late-stage hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancer. This is the first study in the literature to evaluate the impact of HPV status on QOL in this population, and one of the first studies to evaluate QOL in head and neck cancer according to subsite. Results will be presented at the meeting.

Conclusion: This study can potentially generate economies in costs related to QOL assessment as it can help with predicting QOL using significant predictive factors instead of lengthy self-administered questionnaires.