Arends CR, van der Molen L, Lindhout JE, Bragante K, Navran A, van den Brekel MWM, Stuiver MM. Lymphedema and Trismus after Head and Neck Cancer, and the Impact on Body Image and Quality of Life.
Cancers (Basel) 2024;
16:653. [PMID:
38339404 PMCID:
PMC10854984 DOI:
10.3390/cancers16030653]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
To assess the prevalence of chronic lymphedema and trismus in patients > 6 months after head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment, and to explore how the severity of these conditions correlates with body image and quality of life.
METHODS
The cross-sectional sample included 59 patients, treated for HNC between six months to three years ago. Physical measurements were performed to assess the presence of external lymphedema and trismus (<36 mm). Furthermore, participants completed two questionnaires regarding body image (BIS) and quality of life (UW-QoL V4).
RESULTS
Lymphedema prevalence was 94.1% (95% CI 0.86-0.98), with a median severity score of 9 (range 0-24). Trismus prevalence in this sample was 1.2%. The median BIS score was 2, indicating a positive body image. The UW-QoL score showed a good QOL with a median of 100. Only the domain of saliva and overall related health had a lower median of 70 and 60, respectively. There was no correlation between lymphedema and body image (r = 0.08, p = 0.544). Patients with higher lymphedema scores reported poorer speech with a moderate correlation (r = -0.39, p = 0.003).
CONCLUSION
Lymphedema is a highly prevalent, but moderately severe late side-effect of HNC with a limited impact on quality of life domains except for speech, in our cohort.
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