ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2023
Trismus, health-related quality of life, and trismus-related symptoms up to 5 years post-radiotherapy for head and neck cancer treated between 2007 and 2012.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Suicide and Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis and Narrative Synthesis.Psycho-oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Jaw exercise in head and neck cancer patients for prevention of temporomandibular disorders: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Trial
- Preventive exercise intervention for trismus in head and neck cancer - a randomized study : Preventive exercise intervention for trismus.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Trial
- Heterogeneity in mouth opening function among patients with oral cancer following surgery: A latent profile analysis.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2026Article
- Article
- Long-term outcomes among individuals living with and beyond head and neck cancer: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Evaluation of Treatment Modalities for Radiation Therapy-Induced Trismus, Considering the Timing and Adherence to Progress in Mouth Opening and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Review
- Beyond Standard Radiotherapy: an AI-Driven Framework for Personalized Radiotherapy with a Four-Step Classification in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) Patients.Current oncology reports · 2025Review
- Oral rehabilitation and quality of life in head and neck cancer patients receiving dental clearance prior to radiotherapy: a retrospective observational study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Observational
- Surgical Treatment of Mandibular Coronoid Process Hypertrophy Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Nutritional Profiles and Factors Associated with the Intake of Certain Food Types in Patients Undergoing Maxillofacial Prosthetic Rehabilitation: A Cross-Sectional Study.Dentistry journal · 2025Article
- Postradiation trismus in head and neck cancer survivors: a qualitative study of effects on life, rehabilitation, used coping strategies and support from the healthcare system.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2024Article
- Transoral Robotic Surgery for Oral Cancer: Evaluating Surgical Outcomes in the Presence of Trismus.Cancers · 2024Article
- Reply to letter to the editor: Trismus, health-related quality of life, and trismus-related symptoms up to 5-years post-radiotherapy for head and neck cancer treated between 2007-2012.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- Letter to the editor: trismus, health-related quality of life, and trismus-related symptoms up to 5 years post-radiotherapy for head and neck cancer treated between 2007 and 2012.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Article
- Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Quality of Life Aspects in Patients with Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC).Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Speech disorders in patients with Tongue squamous cell carcinoma: A longitudinal observational study based on a questionnaire and acoustic analysis.BMC oral health · 2023Observational
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeRadiotherapy-induced trismus is present in up to 40% of patients treated radiotherapeutically for head and neck cancer (HNC) and impacts health-related quality of life (HRQL) negatively. This prospective study aimed to investigate the development of trismus and its influence on HRQL and trismus-related symptoms in HNC patients for up to 5 years post-radiotherapy completion as no such follow-up studies exist.
methodsPatients (n = 211) were followed prospectively from pre-radiotherapy to 12 and 60 months post-radiotherapy. At each follow-up, maximum interincisal opening (MIO) was measured, and patients filled in the European Organization for Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core-30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), Head and Neck-35 (EORTC QLQ-HN35), and Gothenburg Trismus Questionnaire (GTQ). Trismus was defined as an MIO ≤ 35 mm.
resultsAt 1 year post-radiotherapy, a total of 27% met the trismus criterion, and at 5 years post-radiotherapy, the corresponding figure was 28%. Patients in the trismus group scored significantly worse compared to the patients without trismus on 8/15 domains at 1 year post-radiotherapy on EORTC QLQ-C30, further worsening in 11/15 domains at 5 years post-radiotherapy. Similar results were found for EORTC QLQ-HN35. Patients with trismus reported more trismus-related symptoms according to the GTQ at both timepoints compared to those without trismus.
conclusionThis study highlights that HNC patients suffering from radiotherapy-induced trismus report poorer HRQL and more trismus-specific symptoms compared to patients without trismus. These differences persist and increase up to at least 5 years following treatment completion. Hence, our results highlight that radiotherapy-induced trismus affects long-term HRQL, jaw symptoms, and pain, further stressing the need for early and structured intervention.
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