The Contribution of Socio-Demographic and Medical Factors to Patient Psychological Adjustment in Head and Neck Cancer: An Exploratory Study

Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients experience treatment-related side effects that adversely affect their quality of life. They also report some of the highest distress levels of all cancer patients; however, very little is understood about the factors that contribute to psychological adjustment in this population. This prospective study explores how socio-demographic and medical factors contribute to psychological adjustment such as distress and treatment regret in HNC. One-hundred twenty-seven patients completed surveys at radiotherapy treatment initiation and 4 months later. Stepwise multivariate regression models showed that distress, smoking history, alcohol use, and physical symptom severity assessed at baseline were significantly associated with distress 4 months later. HPV status, alcohol use, and physical symptom severity assessed at baseline were also significantly associated with treatment regret at the 4-month follow-up. Findings suggest that better educational materials are needed for HNC patients in order to help them make more informed treatment decisions.