Health-Related Quality of Life in Oral Cancer: A Study at Peradeniya Dental (Teaching) Hospital

Introduction: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is gaining paramount importance as a valuable outcome measure in oral cancer. This study aimed to assess the HRQoL of oral cancer patients in the Dental (Teaching) Hospital, Peradeniya.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 74 oral cancer patients selected by convenience sampling. HRQoL was measured with Sinhala and Tamil versions of the EQ-5D-3L tool and the demographic and disease-related data were collected using an interviewer-administered data collection form. HRQoL was categorized into “poor” and “good”. The significance level was set as p ≤ 0.05.Results: The overall mean utility score of the sample was 0.65. The majority of the participants (61%) had “good” HRQoL. Sixty-five per cent of the patients reported having some/extreme problems in the health dimension of pain/discomfort, followed by mobility (35%), self-care (38%), usual activities (50%), and anxiety/depression (33%). Significant associations were found between HRQoL and residential area (p=0.019), monthly income (p=0.001), and comorbidities (p<0.001). The mean overall self-rated health status of the patients (on the day of the survey) was 78.65.Conclusions: HRQoL and the self-rated health status of oral cancer patients in Dental (Teaching) Hospital were found to be “good”.