Evaluation of the Quality of Life in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of life in a group of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma with special focus on the influences of socio-demographics and symptomatology. Material and Methods: The study was carried out at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Khyber College of Dentistry Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar from 1st June 2010 to 31 Dec 2011.One hundred and two patients with Oral squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were evaluated in this study. For the collection of data, a specially designed Proforma based on European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire, version 3.0 was used containing functional and symptoms scales. The collected data and all relevant information were analysed using statistical package for social sciences version 17.0. Results: The gender distribution of patients revealed that out of total 102 patients, 56 ((54.90%) were male while 46(45.10%) were female, mostly in age group 66-70 years (26.48%) followed by age group 56-60 years (22.55%). The educational level of these patients showed that most of them (71.57%) were illiterate followed by middle passed (15.69%). The socioeconomic status was poor in 55.88% patients. Clinical tumour staging was such that most of the patients were in Stage IV (42.17%) and Stage III (38.24%). The quality of life assessment revealed that, poor quality of life was observed mostly in female gender, above 60 years age group and Stage IV tumours. Patients with poor and satisfactory socioeconomic groups scored better on functional scales but scored high on symptoms scales. Poor functional scoring was observed in the good socioeconomic group. Conclusion: Advanced age of the patient, advanced tumour stage and poor socioeconomic status has a negative influence on QoL in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. A more specific differentiation in this area of research is desirable and further prospective studies must explore this topic with larger patient sample.