Functional and cognitive impairment , depressive symptoms and social isolation are highly prevalent in head and neck cancer patients and associate with high risk of adverse health outcomes .
OBJECTIVES Older head and neck cancer patients are at increased risk for adverse health outcomes , but little is known about which geriatric assessment associates with poor outcome .
The aim is to study the association of functional or cognitive impairment , social environment and frailty with adverse health outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer .
Changes in quality of life over 1 year in patients with head and neck cancer.
OBJECTIVES To characterize and compare quality of life ( QOL ) in patients with head and neck cancer shortly before initial treatment and 1 year later and to study the predictors of changes in QOL over 1 year . DESIGN Prospect i ve cohort study . SETTING Three otolaryngology clinics . PATIENTS Three hundred sixteen patients having newly diagnosed squamous cell head and neck cancer . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Health-related QOL was assessed using the  36-item Short-Form Health Survey  and a head and neck cancer-specific QOL scale .  RESULTS Over 1 year , QOL decreased for physical functioning measures and eating but improved for mental health QOL . Depression and smoking were major predictors of poor QOL at baseline . Major predictors of change in QOL from baseline to 1 year were treatment factors , especially feeding tube placement ( 9 scales ) , chemotherapy ( 3 scales ) , and radiation therapy ( 3 scales ) . Baseline smoking and depressive symptoms also remained significant predictors of several QOL scales at 1 year . CONCLUSIONS Health-related physical QOL tended to decline over 1 year and mental health QOL improved . The major predictors of change in QOL were treatment factors , smoking , and depressive symptoms . Physicians should alert patients to the relative effects on QOL one may experience with different treatments
Functional and cognitive impairment , depressive symptoms and social isolation are highly prevalent in head and neck cancer patients and associate with high risk of adverse health outcomes .
OBJECTIVES Older head and neck cancer patients are at increased risk for adverse health outcomes , but little is known about which geriatric assessment associates with poor outcome .
The aim is to study the association of functional or cognitive impairment , social environment and frailty with adverse health outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer .