Use of quality-of-life assessment for nasopharyngeal cancer

Aims: To determine the interest in and use of quality-of-life (QOL) questionnaires among international experts in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). Materials and methods: An anonymous cross-sectional 12-question survey was conducted among participants in an international symposium on NPC held in Toronto, Canada, in June 2005. A descriptive analysis is presented. Results: Among 161 participants, 60 returned surveys (response rate 37%); 38/63 physicians (60%) responded. The respondents were evenly divided between men and women, with a median age of 42 years. QOL was familiar to 53 (88%); 38 (63%) used QOL instruments for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients and 30 (50%) used QOL instruments for NPC patients. The most commonly used instruments were the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer questionnaire and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy. English was the most frequently used questionnaire language (46; 77%); 16 (27%) used multiple languages. Questionnaires were used for research only (33; 55%), clinically (10; 17%) or for both (3; 5%). Published QOL data were read by 48 (80%) respondents, with 28 (47%) using these data to inform patients or as an aid to the choice of treatment. All who answered the survey endorsed the collection of QOL data in NPC trials at least 'sometimes' (39 [65%] 'always'). Participants raised concerns about the ability of current HNC QOL questionnaires to measure issues unique to NPC patients. Conclusions: International investigators are interested in using QOL instruments. Collaboration to improve current instruments to meet the needs of NPC patients is warranted.