• G Brandon Gunn, Tito R Mendoza, Clifton D Fuller, Ibrahima Gning, Steven J Frank, Beth M Beadle, Ehab Y Hanna, Charles Lu, Charles S Cleeland, and David I Rosenthal.
• Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
• Head Neck. 2013 Oct 1; 35 (10): 1490-8.

BackgroundAs a first step toward developing effective strategies to control symptoms associated with head and neck cancer (HNC) and its treatment, we sought to describe the pattern of symptoms experienced before radiation therapy.MethodsSubjects completed the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module before beginning radiation therapy.ResultsIn all, 270 patients participated. Symptom severity and interference varied between treatment-naïve patients and those with prior treatment. Cluster analyses revealed that 33% of patients had high symptom burden. Symptoms most often rated moderate-to-severe were fatigue, sleep disturbance, distress, pain, and problems chewing and swallowing. Poorer performance status, higher T classification, and receipt of previous treatment correlated with higher symptom burden.ConclusionsA substantial proportion of patients were experiencing high symptom burden. Because few interventions currently exist for several of the most problematic symptoms, research in symptom reduction that targets the pattern of symptoms described here is greatly needed.Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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