Head and neck cancer: validation of the QLQ-H&N35 quality of life questionnaire

Background: Head and neck cancer affects esthetic and anatomical parameters, causing pain and functional impotence, affecting vital functions such as eating and breathing, hampering the quality of life of patients. EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire with its supplementary module QLQ-H&N35 evaluates the quality of life of these patients. Aim: To statistically validate the QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire in patients with head and neck cancer. Material and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we studied patients with head and neck cancer who attended a rehabilitation unit. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha and validity was determined by the diagnostic efficiency of the QLQ-H&N35 scale as compared with the SF-36 quality of life survey. A Receiver Operational Characteristic (ROC) curve was generated. Results: The Cronbach's alpha global internal consistency of the questionnaire was > 0.70 and its discrimination capacity was 74.2%, which are considered acceptable. Conclusions: These results confirm the statistical validity of the QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire, specifically for patients with head and neck cancer in Chile.