Source: Med Page TodayPublished: February 23, 2014By: Charles Bankhead   SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Patients with oropharyngeal cancer reported significant voice and speech impairment for up to 2 years after chemoradiation therapy, but most of their doctors saw no evidence of it, data from a prospective study showed. Two years after treatment, a fourth of patients said their voice and speech remained below baseline levels, whereas none of their clinicians noted any impairment. At no time did as many as 10% of clinicians report patients with speech and voice issues, whereas the proportion of patients reporting problems ranged as high as 56%. The likelihood of patient-reported difficulties with oral communication increased with the radiation dose to the glottic larynx, reported Jeffrey M. Vainshtein, MD, and colleagues at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. "Our findings highlight the critical role of patient-reported outcomes in identifying areas of improvement of our current therapies, which may ultimately translate into improvements in quality of life for our patients," Vainshtein, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said during a press briefing. Dysphagia and xerostomia are recognized adverse effects of chemoradiation for head and neck cancer and have been studied extensively in recent years. In contrast, a paucity of information exists relative to the effects of chemoradiation on voice and speech quality, Vainshtein said. To examine the issue, investigators assessed voice and speech outcomes in 93 patients who underwent chemoradiation for oropharyngeal cancer, using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). At baseline, and then every 3 to [...]