TY  - JOUR
A1  - Winter, Anna
A1  - Schulz, Stefan M.
A1  - Schmitter, Marc
A1  - Müller-Richter, Urs
A1  - Kübler, Alexander
A1  - Kasper, Sylvia
A1  - Hartmann, Stefan
T1  - Comprehensive geriatric assessment and quality of life aspects in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)
T2  - Journal of Clinical Medicine
N2  - To define frailty in older cancer patients, the aim of this study was to assess the geriatric status and quality of life (QoL) aspects in patients suffering from recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (r/m HNSCC) under palliative treatment. A comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) was performed on 21 r/m HNSCC patients at two defined assessments, and the QoL aspects and the impact of descriptive data were evaluated. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Spearman’s rho correlation, and two-way mixed ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. All patients were found to be “frail”. Pain, fatigue, and the burden of illness were the highest-rated symptoms. Oral function and orofacial appearance were highly impaired. A significant impact of descriptive data on the CGA and QoL results was found (all p ≤ 0.05). Thus, the CGA results revealed high frailty, severe comorbidities, and high impairments in QoL aspects. The CGA and QoL results were negatively affected by the primary HNSCC treatment approach, the need for prosthetic treatment, and worse oral functional capacity. Therefore, frailty in r/m HNSCC patients seems to be multidimensional. The evaluation of the CGA and QoL aspects in r/m HNSCC patients can be recommended to detect special needs, organize aftercare, and improve the support for frail and vulnerable cancer patients to create a multidisciplinary treatment approach.
KW  - frailty
KW  - geriatric cancer patient
KW  - recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
KW  - oral health-related quality of life
KW  - prosthetic rehabilitation
KW  - oral functional capacity
Y1  - 2023
UR  - https://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/36309
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-363096
SN  - 2077-0383
VL  - 12
IS  - 17
ER  -