Long-term quality of life measured by the University of Washington QoL questionnaire (version 4) in patients with oral cancer treated with or without reconstruction with a microvascular free flap

We used the University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QoL) questionnaire (version 4) to assess the long-term quality of life (QoL) of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma treated with or without reconstruction with a microvascular free flap, and all patients with T2–T4 oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated in this way were eligible for the study. A total of 139 patients’ personal details, medical history, and QoL scores were collected and analysed. The mean (SD) overall QoL score was 73.09 (14.8) for patients with T2–T4 oral SCC. The mean (SD) global QoL scores of patients who had had reconstructions was 75.68 (13.85) and of patients who had not 71.00 (15.34) (t = 1.864, df = 137, p = 0.064). Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that site of tumour, T stage, and the need for postoperative radiotherapy had significant effects on the global QoL scores. Among patients with T2 oral SCC there was no significant difference between patients who did and did not have reconstructions. However, there were significant differences among patients with T3/T4 SCC in scores for appearance, recreation, mood, anxiety, chewing, swallowing, and speech depending on whether they did or did not have reconstructions. There were significant differences in the domains recreation, chewing, speech, and taste, depending on the primary site of the tumour. We conclude that reconstruction with a microvascular free flap had a beneficial effect on the treatment of SCC and improved the QoL of patients with oral SCC.