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NCT Number: NCT05482880

Decisional Conflicts, Health-related QoL and Satisfaction With Care in High-risk cSCC in the Head-neck Region

Patient reported outcomes in patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in the head-neck region are an important part of the complex care for these patients. Health-related quality of life, decision conflicts in the choice of treatment and satisfaction with care have not yet been sufficiently studied in this patient group.

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Key information

Conditions

Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Behavior Carcinoma Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck Head and Neck Neoplasms Health Behavior High-Risk Cancer Neoplasms Neoplasms by Histologic Type Neoplasms by Site Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial Neoplasms, Squamous Cell Patient Satisfaction Quality of Life Satisfaction, Patient Skin Cancer Skin Diseases Skin Neoplasms Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin Squamous Cell Carcinomas Treatment Adherence and Compliance

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Radboud UMC, Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands

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About this study

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer worldwide after basal cell carcinoma. It involves approximately 20% of all cutaneous malignancies and its incidence is still increasing. In 2020, nearly 15,000 cSCCs were reported in the Netherlands, of which approximately 50% concerned patients aged 75 years or older. UV radiation is the main risk factor for development of a cSCC, therefore the majority of cSCCs are localized to the sun-exposed skin in the head-neck region. cSCCs have a metastatic rate of 2.6-5% and recurrence rate of 1.9-3.7%, with rates increasing in high-risk cSCCs. The increasing incidence, advanced age, the (often) high-risk localization in the head-neck area (given functional and cosmetic importance) and the possible high risk of metastasis result in complex care, especially in stage T2 to T4 cSCCs, also known as high-risk cSCCs.

Patient-reported outcomes and health related quality of life (HRQoL) are important outcomes in the care for high-risk cSCCs in the head-neck region (HNcSCCs). Previous research is limited regarding the impact of cSCCs on QoL in patients with high-risk HNcSCCs , as is research on decision conflicts in the choice of treatment. The PROFILES registry (Arts, 2019) investigated QoL and satisfaction with care in 215 patients with keratinocyte carcinomas in the head-neck region. However, the majority of the patients had basal cell carcinoma (81%); only 23 patients had cSCC. Besides, no distinction was made in high or low risk cSCC. Finally, quality of life and patient satisfaction questionnaires were not administered until at least one year after diagnosis.

Other studies of QoL in cSCC patients do not distinguish stage and/or location of the tumor, involve small study populations, or only use oncological questionnaires rather than disease-specific questionnaires.

In conclusion, there is little scientific research on health related quality of life, decision conflicts in the choice of treatment and satisfaction with care in specific patients with high-risk HNcSCCs.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • patients diagnosed with a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma located in the head-neck area (including patients with metastatic or recurrence disease)
  • requiring a multidisciplinary approach
  • assessed at the department of dermatology of Maastricht UMC+ or Radboud UMC OR discussed in the multidisciplinary consultation in Maastricht UMC+ or Radboud UMC
  • and for which treatment of the tumor (primary tumor or metastatic/recurrence) takes places in the Maastricht UMC+ of Radboud UMC
  • willing to participate voluntarily in the study

Exclusion criteria

  • patients younger than 18 years
  • patients with inadequate understanding of the Dutch language
  • patients with cognitive impairment or otherwise unable to complete the questionnaires

Treatment and study plan

Regular care with additionally administration of questionnaires

Other

Patients receiving regular care. In addition, validated questionnaires are administered at two measurement points:

  • after the multidisciplinary consultation, a baseline questionnaire*, the decision conflict scale and the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire are administered by phone.
  • 1 month after completion of the treatment program (care pathway) the EQ-5D-5L, the BaSQoL and the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 questionnaires will be administered by phone.

Completing the questionnaires takes about 30 minutes each time.

*Baseline questionnaire: gender, age, marital status, education level, World Health Organization (WHO) performance status, presence of informal care, stage and treatment of cSCC, history of skin cancer, presence of current other skin cancer, and average travel time to hospital.

Primary outcomes

  1. Decisional conflict

    Time frame: At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.

    Decisional conflicts expressed as mean total and domain scores on the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) questionnaire.

    The DCS questionnaire consist of 16 items related to decision conflicts. Items are given a score value of 0 (strongly agree), 1 (agree), 2 (neither agree or disagree), 3 (disagree) and 4 (strongly disagree). The total score can be calculated by summarize all scores, dividing by 16 and then multiplying by 25. The total score ranges from 0 to 100. A higher score correlates with a higher decisional conflict.

    The 5 domain subscores are: uncertainty (3 items), informed (3 items), values clarity (3 items), support (3 items) and effective decision (4 items). The subscores can be calculated by summarize the (3 or 4) items, dividing by the number of items (3 or 4) and then multiplying by 25. The subscores range from 0 to 100 where a higher score correlates with a higher decisional conflict.

  2. Health-related quality of life

    Time frame: At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.

    Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) expressed as mean total/domain scores on the EuroQol five-dimensional (5D) five-level (5L) (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire.

    The EQ-5D-5L consist of 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression). Each dimension has 5 response levels (no, slight, moderate, severe or extreme problems) resp. coded from 1 to 5. The EuroQol-visual analogue scale records the overall health on a vertical visual analogue scale (0 to 100). Example: a response of 77 is coded 77. A higher score indicates a better health status).

  3. Health-related quality of life

    Time frame: At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

    Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) expressed as mean total/domain scores on the EuroQol five-dimensional (5D) five-level (5L) (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire.

    The EQ-5D-5L consist of 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression). Each dimension has 5 response levels (no, slight, moderate, severe or extreme problems) resp. coded from 1 to 5. The EuroQol-visual analogue scale records the overall health on a vertical visual analogue scale (0 to 100). Example: a response of 77 is coded 77. A higher score indicates a better health status).

  4. Health-related quality of life

    Time frame: At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

    HRQoL expressed as mean total/domain scores on the Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma QoL (BaSQoL) questionnaire.

    The BaSQoL consist of 5 scales: behaviour, diagnosis/treatment, worries, appearance and other people. Items are scored: 0 (not at all), 1 (a little), 2 (quite a bit), 3 (very much). An average score per scale will be calculated (the sum of all scores within one scale, divided by the number of items) resulting in a scale score of 0 to 3. A higher score indicates a higher influence of skin cancer on daily life.

  5. Satisfaction with care

    Time frame: Once during the care pathway: 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

    Satisfaction with care expressed as mean total and domain scores on the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 (patient satisfaction) questionnaire.

    The EORTC IN-PATSAT32 is composed of 11 multi-item scales (including doctors' and nurses' interpersonal skills, technical skills, information provision and availability, and other hospital personnel kindness/helpfulness and information giving, waiting time and access) and 3 single item scales (including exchange of information, comfort/cleanliness and general satisfaction). All of the scales and single-item measures range in score from 0 to 100. A high scale score represents a high level of satisfaction with care.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Difference in decisional conflict outcomes between centers

    Time frame: At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.

    Differences in decisional conflict outcome measures (primary outcome 1) between Maastricht University Medical Center+ and Radboud University Medical Center, expressed as mean total/domain scores on the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) questionnaire.

    The DCS questionnaire consist of 16 items related to decision conflicts. Items are given a score value of 0 (strongly agree), 1 (agree), 2 (neither agree or disagree), 3 (disagree) and 4 (strongly disagree). The total score can be calculated by summarize all scores, dividing by 16 and multiplying by 25 (total score range 0-100). A higher score correlates with a higher decisional conflict. The subscores are: uncertainty (3 items), informed (3 items), values clarity (3 items), support (3 items) and effective decision (4 items). The subscores can be calculated by summarize the items, dividing by the number of items and multiplying by 25. The subscores range from 0-100; a higher score correlates with a higher decisional conflict.

  2. Difference in health-related quality of life outcomes between centers

    Time frame: At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.

    Differences in health-related quality of life outcome measures (primary outcome 2) between Maastricht University Medical Center+ and Radboud University Medical Center. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) expressed as mean total/domain scores on the EuroQol five-dimensional (5D) five-level (5L) (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire.

    The EQ-5D-5L consist of 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression). Each dimension has 5 response levels (no, slight, moderate, severe or extreme problems) resp. coded from 1 to 5. The EuroQol-visual analogue scale records the overall health on a vertical visual analogue scale (0 to 100). Example: a response of 77 is coded 77. A higher score indicates a better health status).

  3. Difference in health-related quality of life outcomes between centers

    Time frame: At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

    Differences in health-related quality of life outcome measures (primary outcome 3) between Maastricht University Medical Center+ and Radboud University Medical Center. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) expressed as mean total/domain scores on the EuroQol five-dimensional (5D) five-level (5L) (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire.

    The EQ-5D-5L consist of 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression). Each dimension has 5 response levels (no, slight, moderate, severe or extreme problems) resp. coded from 1 to 5. The EuroQol-visual analogue scale records the overall health on a vertical visual analogue scale (0 to 100). Example: a response of 77 is coded 77. A higher score indicates a better health status).

  4. Difference in health-related quality of life outcomes between centers

    Time frame: At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

    Differences in health-related quality of life outcome measures (primary outcome 4) between Maastricht University Medical Center+ and Radboud University Medical Center. HRQoL expressed as mean total/domain scores on the Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma QoL (BaSQoL) questionnaire.

    The BaSQoL consist of 5 scales: behaviour, diagnosis/treatment, worries, appearance and other people. Items are scored: 0 (not at all), 1 (a little), 2 (quite a bit), 3 (very much). An average score per scale will be calculated (the sum of all scores within one scale, divided by the number of items) resulting in a scale score of 0 to 3. A higher score indicates a higher influence of skin cancer on daily life.

  5. Difference in satisfaction with care outcomes between centers

    Time frame: At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

    Differences in satisfaction with care outcome measures (primary outcome 5) between Maastricht University Medical Center+ and Radboud University Medical Center. Satisfaction with care expressed as mean total and domain scores on the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 (patient satisfaction) questionnaire.

    The EORTC IN-PATSAT32 is composed of 11 multi-item scales (including doctors' and nurses' interpersonal skills, technical skills, information provision and availability, and other hospital personnel kindness/helpfulness and information giving, waiting time and access) and 3 single item scales (including exchange of information, comfort/cleanliness and general satisfaction). All of the scales and single-item measures range in score from 0 to 100. A high scale score represents a high level of satisfaction with care.

  6. Change from baseline health-related quality of life after treatment

    Time frame: Twice during the care pathway: at the start (before treatment) and 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

    The difference in HRQoL before and after treatment, expressed by mean total and domain scores on the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire.

    The EQ-5D-5L consist of 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression). Each dimension has 5 response levels (no, slight, moderate, severe or extreme problems) resp. coded from 1 to 5. The EuroQol-visual analogue scale records the overall health on a vertical visual analogue scale (0 to 100). Example: a response of 77 is coded 77. A higher score indicates a better health status).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Maastricht University Medical Center

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Decisional Conflicts, Health-related Quality of Life and Satisfaction With Care in High-risk Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Head-neck Region: Validated Questionnaires

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2024
First posted
Aug 1, 2022
Registry last updated
Jan 6, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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