Impact of oral mucositis on oral-health-related quality of life of patients diagnosed with cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Oral mucositis (OM) has been described as the oral complication most frequently associated with antineoplastic therapy. However, the influence on the quality of life of affected patients is still unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of OM on the oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients diagnosed with cancer, who developed chemotherapy- and/or radiotherapy-induced OM.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional evaluation of QoL using oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14). The study group comprised a sample of 60 patients diagnosed with cancer, who developed OM during the treatment. The instrument (OHIP-14) composed of seven dimensions was used: functional limitation, physical pain, psychological discomfort, physical deficiency, psychological deficiency, social incapacity, and deficiency.

Results: The internal consistency of OHIP-14 measured by the Cronbach's α coefficient was of 0.76. Physical pain attained the highest score (worst quality of life) among the studied dimensions 60.8% (292/480), followed by physical limitation 52.7% (253/480), and psychological discomfort 50.8% (244/480). The dimension 'social limitation' obtained the lowest score 27.2% (131/480). There was statistically significant difference as regards gender (P = 0.021) for physical pain, with greater impact among patients of the male gender.

Conclusion: Oral-health-related quality of life is significantly affected by OM in individuals diagnosed with cancer.

Keywords: cancer; mucositis; quality of life.