Aim: a quality life questionnaire (QLQ) assessment and its relationship with prognostic of patients with head and neck cancer. Study design: prospective clinical. Material and method: a study of 31 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of upper aerodigestive tract submitted to therapy in Head and Neck Surgery and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Heliópolis Hospital, Hosphel between August,1999 and November, 2000. For evaluation of quality of life it was used the questionnaire QLQ-C30 and the module QLQ-H&N35, both supplied by EORTC, accomplished previously to the treatment. The differences of scores among patients with controlled disease and those with recurrence in the first 12 months after treatment was evaluated. Results: a significant difference was observed in scores between assimptomatic patients and those with recurrence, when related to the fadiga, problems of eating in public and global quality of life (p <= 0,05). The scores in this group were similar to those observed in other populations. Conclusion: the pre-treatment quality of life can be a prognostic indicator for patients with head and neck cancer.
head and neck neoplasms; squamous cell carcinoma; quality of life
