Abstract | PURPOSE: METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients with head-and-neck cancer were randomized to pilocarpine (n = 65) vs. placebo (n = 65) during RT. QOL was measured using the McMaster Head and Neck Radiotherapy Questionnaire (HNRQ). Xerostomia was measured on a linear analog scale. No statistically significant differences were observed between arms; all 130 patients were analyzed together. RESULTS: Baseline QOL data were obtained for 98.5% of participants. The baseline HNRQ score of 5.7 declined significantly to 4.0 (p <0.0001) by RT Week 6 and returned to baseline (5.8) by 6 months after treatment. This represents a large, clinically important change of 1.7 of 7 (24%; effect size 1.34). The decline in HNRQ score during RT paralleled the onset of xerostomia on the linear analog scale (r = 0.36 at 1 month). After treatment, the QOL scores recovered without improvement in xerostomia. The trajectory of the linear analog scale score resembled that of the HNRQ's single xerostomia question (r = 0.75 at 1 month). CONCLUSION: Quality of life recovers to baseline after RT, despite persistent xerostomia. Either a response shift occurs or xerostomia in the absence of acute mucositis has a relatively small influence on overall QOL.
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Authors | Jolie Ringash, Padraig Warde, Gina Lockwood, Brian O'Sullivan, John Waldron, Bernard Cummings |
Journal | International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
(Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys)
Vol. 61
Issue 5
Pg. 1403-7
(Apr 01 2005)
ISSN: 0360-3016 [Print] United States |
PMID | 15817343
(Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)
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Chemical References |
- Muscarinic Agonists
- Pilocarpine
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Topics |
- Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
(radiotherapy)
- Confidence Intervals
- Female
- Head and Neck Neoplasms
(radiotherapy)
- Health Status
- Humans
- Male
- Muscarinic Agonists
(therapeutic use)
- Pilocarpine
(therapeutic use)
- Prospective Studies
- Quality of Life
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Time Factors
- Xerostomia
(complications, prevention & control)
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