Quality of Life of Head and Neck Cancer Patients in Ghana

Abstract

Objective: 1) Investigate quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer at KATH hospital in Ghana. 2) Compare QOL of these patients with a healthy Ghanaian population. 3) Compare QOL for Ghanian patients with QOL of head and neck cancer patients in the United States.

Method: Data collection is ongoing. We anticipate inclusion of 30 Ghanaian head and neck cancer patients, and 30 healthy Ghanaian controls. Participants complete the FACT-H+N QOL Question-naire. Data for patients in the United States are obtained from the FACIT database. Outcome measures include means, medians, standard deviations, and analysis of variance.

Results: Preliminary results demonstrate lower QOL scores among Ghanaian patients undergoing treatment compared with healthy controls (94.5 vs 111). Patients undergoing treatment also have lower scores for physical well-being (22.5 vs 26.4), functional well-being (14 vs 18.5), and head and neck–specific symptoms (20.5 vs 36.4). Ghanaians undergoing treatment had higher scores for emotional well-being compared with healthy Ghanaians (22 vs 16.1). Initial comparison of the Ghanaian and American treatment groups revealed similar scores for physical well-being (22.5 vs 18.9) and functional impairment (14 vs 15.3). However, the Ghanaian patients had higher scores for emotional well-being (22 vs 16.8).

Conclusion: QOL of Ghanaian head and neck cancer patients is significantly worse than healthy controls. Patients are most affected by physical and functional impairments. Emotional well-being is not worse for Ghanaians undergoing treatment. Ghanaian patients are similar to Americans in physical and functional well-being. However, Ghanaian patients demonstrate greater sense of emotional well-being.