[A system for the clinico-functional staging of the quality of life of patients with malignant neoplasms of the oro-facial area]

Abstract

The anatomical region identified with the "head and neck region" has got the highest functional concentration of the human body and the highest incidence of malignant tumours per unit of surface. A pathology, that forced to serious and destroying surgical interventions in this area, will carry necessarily out a series of mutilations and functional restrictions on the whole organism. Leawing out the central nervous system, the head is site of important functions like breathing and feeding, in addition to essential functions for the relationship life like vocal expression and sight. For a correct interpretation of the quality of life in patients with neoplastic lesions in this anatomical area, it is very important to assess what kind of function has been more or less compromised and therefore what kind of limitation interfere between patient and the surrounding environment and between patient and himself. In order to provide a useful instrument for the measurement of the therapeutical acts consequences and in order to quantify the qualitative aspects of oncological patient's residual life, has been elaborated a test of "functional evaluation of the oro-facial district". This system, according to the modern oncology requests that value the dificoltous but important concept of "life quality", allows the interpretation of elements otherwise dispersive because of the various and different physiological functions localized in the considered anatomical district. The examined physiological functions have been subdivided in vital, primary or secondary, and through the use of an objective evaluation score card, they have allowed to classify the patients with orofacial oncological pathology in definite and listed functional stages.