Eat and exercise during radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for pharyngeal cancers: use it or lose it

Pretreatment information on dysphagia: exploring the views of head and neck cancer patients

CONTEXT

Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) are a common acute and chronic side effect of head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment. Dysphagia is associated with medical concerns such as malnutrition and pulmonary health as well as quality of life outcomes. Providing information on the likely changes to swallowing is an important component of pretreatment preparation. There is little research providing the patients' perspective in this area.

OBJECTIVES

This is a qualitative study to describe patients' views on pretreatment information regarding changes to eating, drinking, and swallowing after chemoradiotherapy treatment for HNC.

METHODS

A purposive sample of 24 patients with HNC with a range of post-treatment dysphagia severity, up to two years after chemoradiotherapy, was selected to participate in focus groups or semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted by two researchers, and results were verified with three participants.

RESULTS

Half of the participants presented with mild dysphagia, with the remainder having moderate to severe dysphagia. Mean age was 59 years, and mean time post-treatment was 10 months. Data were grouped into three main themes and subthemes: expectations about treatment outcomes and whether information correlated with pretreatment information; presentation of information, including the format and delivery; and the difficulties with absorption and retention of information.

CONCLUSION

Patients require information on the impact and prognosis for their swallowing ability. There was a general preference for verbal information, from someone knowledgeable about dysphagia. However, there are also individual preferences for the manner and pace at which this information is delivered. Further research is indicated to explore ways of providing information that is individually tailored to patients' needs and preferences.

Dysphagia in head and neck cancer: prevention and treatment

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Swallowing difficulties are among the most problematic outcomes associated with head and neck cancer (HNCA) and the strategies employed to treat it. With a rising incidence of human papilloma virus-associated HNCA, a larger number of patients are expected to survive their cancer, and therefore will be more susceptible to long-term treatment toxicities. Optimization of long-term swallowing outcomes is an important objective for those working with patients with HNCA.

RECENT FINDINGS

The role of the swallowing therapist in the management of patients with HNCA cannot be overstated. This begins with pretreatment evaluation of swallowing. At the time of initial assessment, education should be provided regarding treatment toxicities and the importance of prophylactic swallowing exercises and oral intake. Recent evidence suggests that maintaining an oral diet and engaging in swallowing exercise during radiation have a positive impact on diet level, swallowing physiology, patient-perceived swallowing-related quality of life, and reduced feeding tube use. Although treatment strategies such as radiation de-intensification and transoral surgical treatments show promise for reducing toxicities, evidence regarding their impact is still being amassed.

SUMMARY

Maintaining an oral diet and performing prophylactic swallowing exercises are currently the most evidence-based strategies for dysphagia prevention in HNCA.

Prospective clinical study on long-term swallowing function and voice quality in advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy and preventive swallowing exercises

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) is associated with substantial early and late side effects, most notably regarding swallowing function, but also regarding voice quality and quality of life (QoL). Despite increased awareness/knowledge on acute dysphagia in HNC survivors, long-term (i.e., beyond 5 years) prospectively collected data on objective and subjective treatment-induced functional outcomes (and their impact on QoL) still are scarce. The objective of this study was the assessment of long-term CCRT-induced results on swallowing function and voice quality in advanced HNC patients. The study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial on preventive swallowing rehabilitation (2006-2008) in a tertiary comprehensive HNC center with twenty-two disease-free and evaluable HNC patients as participants. Multidimensional assessment of functional sequels was performed with videofluoroscopy, mouth opening measurements, Functional Oral Intake Scale, acoustic voice parameters, and (study specific, SWAL-QoL, and VHI) questionnaires. Outcome measures at 6 years post-treatment were compared with results at baseline and at 2 years post-treatment. At a mean follow-up of 6.1 years most initial tumor-, and treatment-related problems remained similarly low to those observed after 2 years follow-up, except increased xerostomia (68%) and increased (mild) pain (32%). Acoustic voice analysis showed less voicedness, increased fundamental frequency, and more vocal effort for the tumors located below the hyoid bone (n = 12), without recovery to baseline values. Patients' subjective vocal function (VHI score) was good. Functional swallowing and voice problems at 6 years post-treatment are minimal in this patient cohort, originating from preventive and continued post-treatment rehabilitation programs.