Can we assess quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer? A preliminary report from the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics

Survival statistics alone may no longer be valid when used as evidence of effective outcomes. Patient satisfaction is an end point that needs further evaluation and should be included in the outcomes assessment. A 133-item questionnaire has been designed by a special committee of the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics (AAMP) to assess the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer impacting the orofacial region. This survey will be distributed to the entire population of 7 geographically dispersed treatment centers in the United States for a 2-year period. Patients will be stratified into several subgroups, including radiation/nonradiation, maxillary/mandibular, and surgical reconstruction/prostheses. Separate analyses will be conducted for each subgroup, and comparisons will be made within subgroups to test the sensitivity of the questionnaire to a known difference. A revised version of the AAMP questionnaire, limited to 50 items of interest to patients, will be validated against 2 established head and neck cancer questionnaires. This article provides background on previous quality-of-life studies and reviews the need for and aims of the AAMP assessment instrument.