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Session Item

Friday
March 04
15:15 - 16:15
Gold Hall
Innovative highlights 3
Esther Willemse, Belgium;
Pierluigi Bonomo, Italy
Proffered papers
15:15 - 15:25
The course of supportive care needs in HNC patients during 2 years follow-up and factors associated
Dominique Molenaar, The Netherlands
OC-0033

Abstract

The course of supportive care needs in HNC patients during 2 years follow-up and factors associated
Authors:

Dominique Molenaar1, Irma Verdonck-de Leeuw1, Birgit Lissenberg-Witte2, Ruud Brakenhoff1, Robert Takes3, Chris Terhaard4, Hans Langendijk5, Rob Baatenburg de Jong6, Jan Smit7, René Leemans8, Femke Jansen8

1AmsterdamUMC, Location VUmc, Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 2Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 3Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; 4University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiotherapy, Utrecht, The Netherlands; 5University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Radiation Oncology, Groningen, The Netherlands; 6Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; 7AmsterdamUMC, Location VUmc, Department of Psychiatry, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam and Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 8AmsterdamUMC, Location VUmc, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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Purpose or Objective

The aim of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the longitudinal course of supportive care needs among HNC patients from pre-treatment to 2 years after treatment, and to investigate its associated sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, psychological, and symptom specific factors.

Material and Methods

Patients with newly diagnosed HNC in 7 hospitals in the Netherlands were asked to participate in the Netherlands Quality of Life and Biomedical Cohort Study_Head and Neck Cancer (NET-QUBIC) between April 2014 and July 2018. Patients completed questionnaires at baseline(pre-treatment) and 3, 6, 12 and 24 months post-treatment. Besides the questionnaires, home visits, consisting of physical tests and interviews were conducted at baseline, 6, 12 and 24 months. Mixed model analyses were used to study the course of supportive care needs (as measured using the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SNCS-SF34) and the HNC-specific module (SCNS-HNC)) from baseline up to 2 years after treatment, and to identify factors associated with this course.

Results

739 patients were included in NET-QUBIC, of which 563 patients filled in the SCNS-SF34/SCNS-HNC before start of treatment and were included in this study. At baseline the highest needs were on the health system, information and patient support domain (mean 30.2;SD 23.0), followed by the psychosocial support domain (mean 25.8; SD 24.1), the physical and daily living domain (mean 15.7; SD 20.8), the HNC specific functioning domain (mean 15.1; SD 17.5), HNC specific lifestyle domain (mean 13.4; SD 24.0) and sexuality domain (mean 12.3; SD 19.8). On all supportive care domains, except sexuality needs, supportive care needs significantly changed over time. Supportive care needs either improved (i.e. psychosocial and health system, information and patient support needs) or worsened (physical and daily living and sexuality) from baseline up to M3, after which it improved down to and below baseline levels. Sex, tumor site, smoking, fear of recurrence, oral pain, and appetite loss at baseline were independently associated with the course of physical and daily living needs; tumor site, fear of recurrence, seeking social support, emotional functioning, physical functioning, coughing, and the use of painkillers with the course of psychosocial needs and muscle strength with the course of health system, information and patient support needs. Tumor stage, tumor site, seeking social support, physical functioning, nausea and vomiting, and speech problems were related to the course of HNC specific needs and smoking and excessive alcohol use with lifestyle needs.

Conclusion

Supportive care needs decline over time. However, some patients still have high unmet needs at long-term follow-up. Sociodemographic, clinical, psychological, lifestyle and symptom specific factors appear to be associated with the course of supportive care needs. These factors might help to identify patients with supportive care needs and better tailor supportive care to their individual needs.