17 J Contemp Med Sci | Vol. 6, No. 1, January–February 2020: 17–21 Original ISSN 2413-0516 Introduction Cancers of head and neck area including lips, mouth, tongue, tonsils, pharynx, larynx, hypopharynx, and salivary glands are typically challenging to handle because, unlike malignancies of other organs, they cannot be easily delimited. 1 Head and neck cancers are the sixth most common cancer in the world. About 40% of these cancers occur in the mouth, 2 15% in the hypopharynx, and 25% in the larynx. 3 Head and neck area is the position of organs that control primary functions such as respiration, swallowing, talking, and hearing and basically any organ that is associated with social interaction. 4 In the case of oral cancer, research has shown an increase in the incidence of this cancer worldwide, 5 and although this could be seen as a global health problem, two-thirds of the deaths due to this cancer occur in developing countries. 6 Oral cancer and other head and neck malignancies have major efects such as pain, mucositis, dry mouth, and loss of taste, smell, appetite, and weight, which can severely afect the qual- ity of life (QOL) of patients. 7 Head and neck cancers are known to have signifcantly high morbidity rates. In addition, the side efects of surgery and radiotherapy can also undermine the QOL of patients. 8 Te efects on appearance and functions ofen change the patients’ understanding and feelings and their ability to socially interact with others. Ofen, these patients are unable to hide the outward and functional efects of the illness, and this negatively afects their self-esteem and confdence. 9 Given the major challenges that these patients must face in their lives afer treatment and their need to maintain functionality despite their condition, their QOL is an important issue wor- thy of deep consideration. 10 Te QOL of patients with head and neck cancer can be improved through diferent therapeu- tic approaches. Te eforts in this area have led to the develop- ment of several questionnaires and also QOL measurements becoming one of the components of treatment protocols. According to the defnition of the World Health Organization, QOL is “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns.” 11 In a study by Aquarwal et al. on the QOL of patients with tongue cancer, they reported signifcant improvements in pain, general functions, and psychological state of these patients 12 months afer treatment. 12 In a research carried out by Boyapati et al., an acceptable level of QOL outcome was reported for local reconstructive treatment of early tongue/foor of mouth cancer. Tese researchers stated that local reconstructive sur- gery could be highly efective in managing early tongue/foor of mouth cancers. Te instrument used in this research was the University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL) questionnaire. 11 In an assessment of QOL of head and neck cancer patients undergoing modern radiotherapy, Chen showed that 80% of these patients had a good overall QOL. 13 In another research, head and neck cancer patients who had undergone common surgical procedures with or without complementary therapy earned higher scores in most dimensions of QOL. 14 Tere exist strong evidence suggesting a positive relationship between the survival of people with head and neck cancer and their phys- ical activity before treatment, and also between their survival and the change in QOL from before treatment to 6 months afer. 15 It has been shown that patients with advanced can- cer have lower QOL and higher scores in pain, fatigue, and loss of appetite dimensions. 2 A study by Villaret et al., which evaluated the QOL of treated oral cancer patients with the UW-QOL questionnaire, showed that 77% of these patients had maintained their normal or near-normal functions 12 months afer treatment. Tis study concluded that recon- structive treatment can be very efective in maintaining the Assessment of quality of life among head and neck cancer patients Forouzan Rafe, a Molook Torabi, b Ali Taheri, c Zahra Mellat a a Neuroscience Research Centre, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. b Dental and Oral Diseases Research Center, School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. c Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. Correspondence to: Molook Torabi (email: torabimolok773@gmail.com). (Submitted: 09 September 2019 – Revised version received: 04 October 2019 – Accepted: 22 October 2019 – Published online: 26 February 2020) Objective This study evaluates the quality of life of the patients undergoing treatment at the oncology center in Yazd, Iran. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 29 patients with oral and head and neck cancer who were referred to the oncology center of Shahid Sadoughi hospital in Yazd between May 2015 and February 2016. Data were collected using the University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire. The illness-related information was obtained from the patients’ medical records. Questionnaires were administered before the treatment and 6 months after its completion. Data analysis was performed in SPSS 21 using chi-square and ANOVA tests. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically signifcant. Results The sample consisted of 17 (58.6%) women and 12 (41.4%) men with a mean age of 40.00±14.30 years. The most frequent cancer location was the oral cavity and the most frequent treatment method was surgery. The mean score of quality of life before and after treatment was 12.60±2.81 and 11.39±2.63, respectively. The most important issues of the patients before and after treatment were pain and saliva, respectively. Stage 3 and 4 patients had a signifcantly lower quality of life than stage 1 and 2 patients. Conclusion The study found that undergoing treatment afects some dimensions of quality of life. Hence, choosing the best treatment method with due attention to side efects and follow-up sessions is recommended. Keywords cancer, head and neck, UW-QOL, quality of life