Quality of life, anxiety and depression in head and neck cancer patients: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: To evaluate an educational program based on the principles of self-management with a conventional educational program through quality of life, anxiety and depression instruments within 12 months of starting cancer treatment. Method: An experimental, randomized, controlled study conducted with head and neck cancer patients treated at a university hospital in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: the control group submitted to the conventional educational plan, and the experimental group submitted to the educational plan for self-management. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used for the analyzes using the t-test, Fischer's exact test and Repeated Measures ANOVA. Results: Twenty (20) patients were selected. Most participants were male, in advanced stages of disease and undergoing three therapeutic modalities. The control group showed a gradual decrease in quality of life scores during treatment, while the experimental group progressively increased. The correlation was significant between the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms and poor quality of life. Patients in the control group had a significant worsening in social/family wellbeing (P = 0.02) and the prevalence of additional head and neck cancer-related additional concerns (P = 0.01), while the experimental group had reduced anxiety symptoms (P = 0.001) and improved emotional well-being (P = 0.01). Conclusion: The educational intervention based on building self-management skills favored quality of life and reduced anxiety and depression. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (RBR 2q53ct).