Background & objective: With the elevation of survival rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients after treatment, their quality of life (QOL) is more and more emphasized. This study was designed to evaluate the QOL of disease-freely survival NPC patients after treatment, and to investigate the factors correlated with their QOL.
Methods: From Jul. to Aug. 2003, disease-freely survival NPC patients who had been treated from 1999 to 2000 in Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University were enrolled. The Chinese SF-36 questionnaire and a checklist consists of 14 items about self-rating symptoms were self-reported by all participants at clinic. Sociodemographic and clinical data of the patients were also collected, and their relationships with SF-36 data and symptoms were analyzed.
Results: A total of 192 patients were enrolled in the study. The median survival time was 3.6 years (ranged 2.4-4.6 years). Xerostomia was the first common symptom, followed by hypoacusis, hypomnesia, dysphagia, and trismus. Univariate analysis showed that gender, age, educational level, monthly income, economic status, religion, and the number of complications had influences on QOL; the patients in earlier T and N stages, irradiated by linear accelerator, with lower total dose and weekly dosage to the nasopharynx and neck, and those who had anterior nasal field radiation reported better QOL. Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the number of complications, monthly income, age, and T stage were independent factors affecting total QOL.
Conclusions: Improving radiotherapy might enhance physical functions of NPC patients. The prevention and control of chronic diseases, the development of economy, and the increase of income may promote NPC patients' QOL.