Single-item discrimination of quality-of-life–altering dysphagia among 714 long-term oropharyngeal cancer survivors: Comparison of patient-reported outcome measures of swallowing

Background: Two patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of swallowing and their correlation to quality of life (QOL) were compared in long-term survivors of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Methods: Scores on the single dysphagia item from the 28-item, multisymptom MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck (MDASI-HN-S) were compared with scores on the dysphagia-specific composite MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) and the EuroQol visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) in 714 patients who had received definitive radiotherapy ≥12 months before the survey. An MDASI-HN-S score ≥6 and an MDADI composite score <60 were considered representative of moderate/severe swallowing dysfunction. Results: Moderate/severe dysphagia was reported by 17% and 16% of respondents on the MDASI-HN-S and the composite MDADI, respectively. Both swallow PROs were predictive of QOL, and the MDASI-HN-S model was slightly more parsimonious for the discrimination of EQ-VAS scores compared with MDADI scores (Bayesian information criteria, 6062 vs 6076, respectively). An MDASI-HN-S cutoff score of ≥6 correlated best with a declining EQ-VAS score (P <.0001) and was associated with increased radiotherapy dose to several normal swallowing structures. Conclusions: In this cohort, the single-item MDASI-HN-S performed favorably for the discrimination of QOL compared with the multi-item MDADI. A time-efficient model for PRO measurement of swallowing is proposed in which the MDADI may be reserved for patients who score ≥6 on the MDASI-HN-S.