Resumen
Patients with head and neck cancer undergoing curative treatment with radiation therapy and chemotherapy often experience sleep disturbances that can affect pain and quality of life. We prospectively studied this patient population using sleep symptom questionnaires to assess the impact of sleep disturbances on patient-reported outcomes. We found that at baseline, 39% of patients had subthreshold or greater insomnia and 54% screened positive for OSA. Upon completion of radiation therapy, patients with these sleep disturbances had worse patient-reported quality of life and oral mucositis pain. These findings highlight the importance of managing sleep disturbances as a potential method to improve patient-reported outcomes for patients undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.