Análise da qualidade de vida dos pacientes submetidos à radioterapia para tratamento de neoplasias malignas em região de cabeça e pescoço do serviço da santa casa de misericórdia de Sobral, Ceará, Brasil

Abstract

Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) include neoplasms that affect anatomical sites of the upper aerodigestive tract. It corresponds to the seventh most common neoplasm worldwide. According to INCA data, in 2020, 48,010 new cases of PCC were diagnosed. The oral cavity is the main site of involvement. These neoplasms, as well as their treatment, can lead to significant changes in vital functions, such as chewing, breathing, salivation, swallowing and speech, which can generate important biopsychosocial repercussions for both affected patients and their families. The objective of this study is to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of patients with HNC who underwent radiotherapy treatment in the Oncology sector of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Sobral. The sample consisted of 18 patients undergoing radiotherapy between August 2020 and August 2021. Clinicalpathological, sociodemographic and lifestyle information were collected through the survey of medical records. The application of the Quality of Life Questionnaire (UWQOL version 4) was performed during follow-up consultations, at 2 different times T1 (between the 1st and 12th RT session) and T2 (between the 13th and 35th RT session). Data were compared between the two evaluation periods using the Wilcoxon or McNemar tests (p < 0.05). Profile was predominantly male (94.4%), with a mean age of 61.61 years. Of these patients, 72.2% were diagnosed with stage I/II SCC (66.7%), with the main location being in the oropharynx region. 61.1% of patients reported smokers and 38.9% alcoholics. Domains of appearance (p=0.036), recreation (p=0.016), swallowing (p=0.022), chewing (p=0.022), taste (p=0.007), saliva (p=0.048) and mood (p=0.046) showed significant differences between T1 and T2 with lower scores. There was no significant difference in QOL scores in health and RT sessions. Patients in T1 had a lower frequency of some type of important problem in the last seven days. It was concluded that radiotherapy had a negative impact on QOL throughout treatment, with a greater deterioration of physical-functional domains. Therefore, evaluating how radiotherapy impacts the patient's quality of life is essential for the development and optimization of care protocols for each stage of treatment. Multidisciplinary follow-up becomes imperative, with the inclusion of the dental surgeon in the hospital environment.