DOI: 10.36347/sjds.2017.v04i05.009

Pages: 250-253

Head and neck cancer is one of the six most prevalent neoplasms worldwide. Regardless of tumor site, deterioration of basic functions affecting head and neck areas are perceived and affect patients' lives. The aim of this study was to evaluate health related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with head and neck cancer. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 72 patients being treated for head and neck cancer. Demographic characteristics including sex, age, educational level, and occupation, duration of the disease and treatment modality were collected from patient's hospital records. HRQoL measured by 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) questionnaire. Data analyzed in SPSS 21 software by ANOVA, linear regression and t-tests. P value was considered significant at 0.05% level. 56.9% of the patients were men and 43.1% were women. Their mean age was 58.4 ± 15.9 years. The most frequent cancer was squamous cell carcinoma of larynx. The mean score of SF-12 was 35.94±7.86. Females, higher educational level and older patients had significantly lower quality of life. Based of the present study head and neck cancer can have a negative impact on HRQoL. Sex and educational level and age were factors correlated with HRQoL.