Publications by authors named "B Brokstad Herlofson"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on establishing minimal important change (MIC) estimates for quality of life (QoL) in head and neck cancer patients using the EORTC QLQ-HN43 questionnaire.
  • A total of 503 patients from 15 countries completed the questionnaire at three different time points during treatment, and results indicated varying MICs for different QoL domains such as swallowing, speech, and dry mouth.
  • Findings revealed that MIC values for deterioration were generally higher than those for improvement, implying that a universal MIC or minimal detectable change (MDC) cannot be uniformly applied across all scales of the EORTC QLQ-HN43.
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Background: There is lack of evidence on chronic fatigue (CF) following radiotherapy (RT) in survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC). We aimed to compare CF in HNC survivors > 5 years post-RT with a reference population and investigate factors associated with CF and the possible impact of CF on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Material And Methods: In this cross-sectional study we included HNC survivors treated in 2007-2013.

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Background: Symptom assessment is key to effective symptom management and palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. Symptom prevalence and severity estimates vary widely, possibly dependent on the assessment tool used. Are symptoms specifically asked about or must the patients add them as additional symptoms? This study compared the prevalence and severity of patient-reported symptoms in two different versions of a multi-symptom assessment tool.

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Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients suffer from a range of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) issues, but little is known about their long-term HRQoL. This study explored associations between treatment group and HRQoL at least 5 years' post-diagnosis in HNC survivors. In an international cross-sectional study, HNC survivors completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life core questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and its HNC module (EORTC-QLQ-H&N35).

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Background: Although dysphagia is a common side effect after radiotherapy (RT) of head and neck cancer (HNC), data on long-term dysphagia is scarce. We aimed to 1) compare radiation dose parameters in HNC survivors with and without dysphagia, 2) investigate factors associated with long-term dysphagia and its possible impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and 3) investigate how our data agree with existing NTCP models.

Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted in 2018-2020, included HNC survivors treated in 2007-2013.

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