Abstract
BACKGROUND: Voice is the critical component of communication, and impairment in voice quality tends to affect the overall health status of an individual. Voice quality tends to impair significantly in head and neck cancer patients because the tumors are usually present near the structures which were responsible for the production of voice. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to analyze the voice quality in head and neck cancer patients using three instruments including VHI, EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 and SSS. The objective of the study includes analysis of voice quality impairment in different domains including functional, physical, emotional impairment. We also aim to correlate the impartment in voice quality with the gender, cancer stage and site of the tumor. At last, our objective was to analyze the correlation of VHI with the EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 and SSS. METHODS: Totally, 205 adult head and neck cancer patients were recruited from the outpatient department. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected using a predesigned proforma. Voice quality among patients was analyzed using the Hindi version of the VHI, EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 and SSS. RESULTS: The mean age of 205 patients was 52.79 ± 13.11 years, with a male predominance. Majority of patients presented with stage IV cancer. The most common cancer site was the oral cavity, including the tongue, buccal mucosa and alveolus. The functional and physical states of voice were found to be affected more than the emotional state among all patients. Voice quality was affected more in males compared to the female. Patients with the advanced stage of cancer have more impaired voices. Patients having cancer in the tongue, buccal mucosa, alveolus, larynx and palate tend to have more severely impaired voice quality. A strong correlation of VHI was observed with the SSS and EORTC-QLQ-HN35. CONCLUSION: Voice quality was found to impair at a severe level in head and neck cancer patients. Further studies are required to validate the findings of this study to design treatment protocol that take voice quality of head and neck under consideration.