Cross-sectional analysis of quality-of-life of patients undergoing reconstructive surgery for tongue cancer

Organs with important functions for daily life are concentrated in the head and neck area, and maintaining post-treatment Quality-of-Life (QOL) is also important when treating cancers of the head and neck, in addition to improving survival rate. Free flap reconstruction techniques are expected to contribute to maintaining post-treatment QOL, but these techniques have not been adequately evaluated in Japan. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of QOL, using the Japanese version of the UWQOL (version 4) from the University of Washington in the United States, with 202 patients from 10 institutions who had undergone reconstructive surgery for tongue cancer. In addition to the survey form, we collected clinical information (age, sex, time since surgery, flap donor site, whether radiotherapy was administered, and other factors), and analyzed whether differences in postoperative QOL were seen depending on each of these factors and the hospital at which the surgery was performed. Although a relationship was found between QOL following reconstructive surgery for tongue cancer and the extent of resection, age and whether radiotherapy was administered, fairly good QOL was maintained overall.