Arch Otolaryngol
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To characterize and compare quality of life (QOL) in patients with head and neck cancer shortly before initial treatment and 1 year later and to study the predictors of changes in QOL over 1 year. ⋯ Health-related physical QOL tended to decline over 1 year and mental health QOL improved. The major predictors of change in QOL were treatment factors, smoking, and depressive symptoms. Physicians should alert patients to the relative effects on QOL one may experience with different treatments.