Assessing quality of life in patients after partial laryngectomy.

BACKGROUND

In the present prospective cross-sectional clinical study, correlations between global quality of life (QoL) and coping strategies were examined in patients who had undergone partial laryngeal resection for T1-T2 laryngeal cancer.

METHODS

Correlations between point scores in the "Trier Illness Coping Scales" and SF-36 were analysed in 71 patients (65 males, 6 females, mean age 62 years) at routine follow-up visits by means of linear regression and Pearson's R.

RESULTS

The most important coping strategy was "threat control", followed by "search for social integration". Greater expression of "rumination" was statistically correlated with poorer quality of life, and patients with more advanced disease were more inclined to seek social integration.

CONCLUSIONS

Coping strategies exert substantial influence on the quality of life of cancer survivors. Disease- or treatment-related day-to-day problems and anxieties about the oncological outcome have a greater influence on the quality of life of laryngeal cancer survivors than do voice changes. This finding should be taken into account in survivorship care planning.