Quality of life in patients with dysphagia after radiation and chemotherapy treatment for head and neck tumors

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze subjectively, using the SWAL-QOL questionnaire, swallowing dys function and associated factors after treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy in patients treated for head and neck cancer. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, based on the selection of patients with tumors of the head and neck area, treated with radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy during the years 2000 to 2006 at the Oncology Institute of Juiz de Fora. The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 software, and were evaluated using the chisquare test to compare differences in proportions between groups. The statistical significance level was set at 5%. Results: It was observed that with respect to foods of solid consistency, there was a statistically significant difference for mouth tumors (p<0.01), with a tendency in this group to use softer foods, easier to chew (stews, boiled vegtables, creamy soups, canned fruit). With reference to the domains of the SWAL-QOL, the location of the tumor in the mouth was statistically associated with the lowest quality of life in the symptoms domain (p