Background: To assess the prevalence of chronic lymphedema and trismus in patients > 6 months after head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment, and to explore how the severity of these conditions correlates with body image and quality of life. Methods: The cross-sectional sample included 59 patients, treated for HNC between six months to three years ago. Physical measurements were performed to assess the presence of external lymphedema and trismus (<36 mm). Furthermore, participants completed two questionnaires regarding body image (BIS) and quality of life (UW-QoL V4). Results: Lymphedema prevalence was 94.1% (95% CI 0.86–0.98), with a median severity score of 9 (range 0–24). Trismus prevalence in this sample was 1.2%. The median BIS score was 2, indicating a positive body image. The UW-QoL score showed a good QOL with a median of 100. Only the domain of saliva and overall related health had a lower median of 70 and 60, respectively. There was no correlation between lymphedema and body image (r = 0.08,p= 0.544). Patients with higher lymphedema scores reported poorer speech with a moderate correlation (r = −0.39,p= 0.003). Conclusion: Lymphedema is a highly prevalent, but moderately severe late side-effect of HNC with a limited impact on quality of life domains except for speech, in our cohort.
背景：本研究旨在评估头颈癌治疗后超过6个月患者中慢性淋巴水肿和牙关紧闭症的患病率，并探讨这些病症的严重程度与身体意象及生活质量之间的相关性。方法：横断面研究样本包含59名在六个月至三年前接受过头颈癌治疗的患者。通过体格测量评估外部淋巴水肿和牙关紧闭症（张口度<36毫米）的存在情况。此外，参与者完成了关于身体意象（BIS）和生活质量（UW-QoL V4）的两份问卷。结果：淋巴水肿患病率为94.1%（95% CI 0.86–0.98），中位严重程度评分为9分（范围0-24）。样本中牙关紧闭症患病率为1.2%。身体意象中位得分为2分，表明身体意象总体积极。生活质量量表显示良好生活质量，中位得分100分。仅唾液分泌和总体相关健康两个维度的中位得分较低，分别为70分和60分。淋巴水肿与身体意象无显著相关性（r=0.08, p=0.544）。淋巴水肿评分较高的患者言语功能较差，呈中等程度负相关（r=-0.39, p=0.003）。结论：在本研究队列中，淋巴水肿是头颈癌治疗后高度普遍但严重程度中等的晚期副作用，除言语功能外，对生活质量其他领域的影响有限。
Lymphedema and Trismus after Head and Neck Cancer, and the Impact on Body Image and Quality of Life
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家