Background: Platinum and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy with surgery (NAC + S) is a novel de-intensified treatment modality that is currently under investigation.
Methods: All patients treated for HPV positive OPSCC with NAC + S at a single institution between 2006 and 2020 were contacted to complete the University of Washington Quality of life questionnaire (UW-QOL) at least 2 years following the completion of treatment.
Results: The UW-QOL surveys were received from 25 of 48 eligible patients (52.1%). The mean follow-up time was 4.3 years (range 2.0-7.6 years). The overall mean score for the physical subscale was 92.4 (Standard deviation, SD = 10.9), and the social-emotional subscale was 91.1 (11.8). Compared to the normative cohort, the NAC + S cohort had a worse appearance (Mean scores Normative vs. NAC + S: 93 vs. 84.0, p = 0.009).
Conclusion: NAC + S offers favorable long-term QOL, as evidenced by near-normal scores in most QOL domains.
Keywords: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy; Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma; Quality of life; Swallowing; Transoral robotic surgery; University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL).
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.