Health-related quality of life of parotid carcinoma patients-a comparative study with parotid adenoma patients and assessment of the influence of demographic, treatment, and pathological factors.

The aim of this study was to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients treated for parotid carcinoma (PC) and parotid adenoma (PA). The impact of demographic, treatment, and pathological factors was analyzed within the PC group. The EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires were completed by 45 PC patients and 46 PA patients. A number of HRQoL domains were significantly worse in the PC group than in the PA group: global health status, pain, insomnia, loss of appetite, mouth opening, swallowing problems, dry mouth, sticky saliva, problems with senses and speech, social eating, and cognitive functioning (P<0.05). In the PC group, significantly worse scores were found for age >55years, radical parotidectomy, neck dissection, radiotherapy, recurrence of the disease, pT3/T4 stage, pN+ status, and high-grade tumour (P<0.05). Worse results were related to global health status, social contact, mouth opening, weight and appetite loss, physical, role, emotional, and social functioning, fatigue, speech problems, social eating, and financial difficulties. The study results demonstrate worse HRQoL in PC patients in comparison to PA patients. Older age, radical parotidectomy, neck dissection, radiotherapy, T3/T4 stage, pN+, high-grade tumours, and recurrence had a significant influence on HRQoL in PC patients.