Social life functioning evolution during chemoradiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma
PO-1194
Abstract
Social life functioning evolution during chemoradiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Nejla Fourati1, Syrine Zouari1, Mariem Frikha1, Fatma Dhouib1, Zied Fessi1, Wafa Mnejja1, Jamel Daoud1
1Habib Bourguiba Hospital Faculty of Medicine University of Sfax, Radiotherapy Department, Sfax, Tunisia
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Purpose or Objective
Currently, patients’ quality of life evaluation during cancer treatment occupies an important place as well as the assessment of oncological results.
The objective of our study was to evaluate the evolution of patients’ social life during radio-chemotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPCs).
Material and Methods
This is a prospective study that included 50 patients treated for NPC with induction chemotherapy followed by intensity-modulated radiotherapy associated with concomitant chemotherapy (RCC). The median age was 49 years [23-78] with a sex ratio of 2.64. According to the 8th edition TNM classification, the majority of patients had a stage IVa tumor (30 patients: 58.8%). All patients completed quality of life questionnaires QLQ-C30 EORT before the start of CCR (T1), at mid-treatment (T2), and the end of treatment (T3). Social life impairment was assessed by 2 questions of the QLQ-C30: Q26 “Did your physical condition or your medical treatment bother you in your family life? and Q27 "Your physical condition or your medical treatment interfered with your social activities (e.g. dating friends, going to the cinema...)? ". Responses coded from 1 (not at all) to 5 (too much) were transformed into scores that varied between 0 (no alteration) and 100 (maximum alteration). The comparison of the scores was carried out by the test of Wilcoxon between T1 and T2; between T1 and T3 and between T2 and T3.
Results
The mean score for the social life impairment was 86.33 ± 21.2; 72.66 ± 32.9 and 65.99 ± 28.1 at T1, T2, and T3 respectively. This alteration was significant between T1 and T2 (p=0.01) as well as between T1 and T3 (p < 0.001). However, the difference was not significant between the T2 and the T3.
Conclusion
During CCR, social life impairment is mainly seen during the 1st phase of treatment and it remains stable between T2 and T3. It could be due to lifestyle changes imposed by treatment (distance from radiotherapy centers) and acute toxicities. Regular evaluation of treatment impact on patient's quality of life allows better support and thus a better adherence to the therapeutic protocol.