Assessment of quality of life in patients with advanced oral cancer who underwent mandibulectomy with or without bone reconstruction.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant neoplasms of the head and neck, due to its anatomical location, can cause significant alterations in vital functions related to feeding, communication and social interaction of the affected patients.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the quality of life of patients with advanced malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity and submitted to radical operations with curative intent.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: 47 patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), in stages III and IV, underwent surgical treatment with segmental mandibulectomy and complementary radiotherapy. The patients were submitted to the quality of life questionnaires after a minimum time of six months after the surgical treatment.

RESULTS: Of the 183 patients, only 47 (25.7%) were able to answer the questionnaire and were included as the sample of the study. The majority of patients selected were male (39; 82.9%). The mean age was 64.4 years. The majority of the patients presented clinical stage IV (83%) and were submitted to adjuvant radiotherapy (95.4%). The mean score obtained after the questionnaires were applied was 64.6. The worst scores were found in swallowing and chewing.

CONCLUSION: There were no statistically significant differences in the domains of quality of life between the two groups studied (with bone reconstruction versus no bone reconstruction). Patients interviewed 2 years or more after treatment presented higher scores (p = 0.02).