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Effectiveness of prosthetic rehabilitation and quality of life of older edentulous head and neck cancer survivors following resection of the maxilla: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the effectiveness of prosthetic rehabilitation, as well as the quality of life (QOL) of older edentulous maxillectomy patients.

Methods

Effectiveness of the complete denture obturator prosthesis and QOL of N = 44 older edentulous patients who had resection of the maxilla and were restored with a definitive prosthesis that was in use for a minimum of 1 year was assessed using three instruments: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Core Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), Head and Neck Cancer Module (QLQ-HN35), and Obturator Functioning Scale (OFS). Data analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on ranks, Spearman rank-order correlation, and hierarchical multivariable rank regression at α = .05 level of significance.

Results

Participants’ gender (P < .001), adjuvant treatment (P = .016), surgical approach (P = .017), size of the maxillary defect (P = .028), participants’ prosthetic history (P = .047), and dental status of the mandible (P = .038) were significantly related to the self-reported effectiveness of the complete denture obturator prosthesis. Perceived functioning of the prosthesis (P = .001), participants’ gender (P = .002), the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status (P = .027), and surgical approach (P = .039) were significant predictors of QOL.

Conclusion

Restoration of the edentulous maxillectomy defect is challenging. An effective definitive complete denture obturator appeared to be the strongest predictor for advanced quality of life in older maxillectomy patients. The physical status of the older participants significantly affected the overall QOL, but did not influence the self-reported functioning of the complete denture obturator prosthesis.

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Data availability

The data is available in the hospital’s medical charts. The measurement instruments were described in the materials and methods section of the manuscript.

Code availability

The statistical package used is licensed at NKUA.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Prosthodontics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Dentistry, Athens, Greece

    Ioli Ioanna Artopoulou, Aspasia Sarafianou & Gregory Polyzois

  2. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA

    Ioli Ioanna Artopoulou

  3. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Evaggelismos” General Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Christos Perisanidis

Authors
  1. Ioli Ioanna Artopoulou
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  2. Aspasia Sarafianou
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  3. Christos Perisanidis
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  4. Gregory Polyzois
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Contributions

Dr. Artopoulou: Conception and design of the study, analysis of data, interpretation of data, drafting of the manuscript, and final approval of the version to be submitted

Dr. Sarafianou: Acquisition of data

Dr. Perisanidis: Critical revision

Dr. Polyzois: Critical revision

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ioli Ioanna Artopoulou.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of NKUA (2015–268), in compliance with the Helsinki declaration and the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.

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All the participants signed an informed consent before enrolling in the present study.

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All the participants consent for the publication of any identifiable details, which can include photograph(s) and/or videos, data, case history, and/or details in the present manuscript.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Artopoulou, I.I., Sarafianou, A., Perisanidis, C. et al. Effectiveness of prosthetic rehabilitation and quality of life of older edentulous head and neck cancer survivors following resection of the maxilla: a cross-sectional study. Support Care Cancer 30, 4111–4120 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06850-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06850-9

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