Monica B. Spaulding, MD

Logemann and colleagues highlight an aspect of the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer that is frequently ignored; ie, the importance of rehabilitation efforts and evaluations of post-therapy quality of life. As oncologists, whether surgical, radiation, or medical, our studies and publications have traditionally focused on overall survival, disease-free survival, and, particularly in the management of head and neck cancer, local control of disease. More recently, investigators have begun to address quality of life when constructing studies for patients with all kinds of malignancies, and newer performance outcome instruments have been designed specifically for patients with head and neck cancer.[1]