Introduction: Treatments for patients with laryngeal cancer often have an impact on physical, social, and psychological functions.
Objective: To evaluate quality of life and voice in patients treated for advanced laryngeal cancer through surgery or exclusive chemoradiation.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study with 30 patients free from disease: ten total laryngectomy patients without production of esophageal speech (ES); ten total laryngectomy patients with tracheoesophageal speech (TES), and ten with laryngeal speech. Quality of life was measured by SF-36, Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL), and Voice Handicap Index (VHI) protocols, applied on the same day.
Results: The SF-36 showed that patients who received exclusive chemoradiotherapy had better quality of life than the TES and ES groups. The V-RQOL showed that the voice-related quality of life was lower in the ES group. In the VHI, the ES group showed higher scores for overall, emotional, functional, and organic VHI.
Discussion: Quality of life and voice in patients treated with chemoradiotherapy was better than in patients treated surgically.
Conclusion: The type of medical treatment used in patients with laryngeal cancer can bring changes in quality of life and voice.
Keywords: Carcinoma de células escamosas; Laryngeal neoplasms; Neoplasias laríngeas; Squamous cell carcinoma; Voice; Voz.
Copyright © 2014 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.