The Quality of Life in Surgically Treated Head and Neck Basal Cell Carcinoma Patients: A Comprehensive Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer with increasing incidences every year. The face is considered to be the most affected body part and surgery the most often applied treatment method. Although this tumor rarely metastasizes and is generally considered to cause low morbidity, the established oncologic diagnosis and the existing impairment in facial area as well as the surgical treatment, which may leave postoperative scars and facial disfigurement of varied extent, affect the patient’s quality of life. The aim of this article is to review and summarize current literature on the impact of craniofacial basal cell carcinoma surgical treatment on patients’ quality of life and to compare it before and after the surgery. After conducting a comprehensive review, we conclude that there is a lack of studies assessing the impact of surgical treatment on quality of life exclusively in patients with head and neck basal cell carcinoma. ABSTRACT: In this review, we examine current literature analyzing the impact of surgical treatment on the QoL in patients with head and neck BCC. A comprehensive literature review was performed using the main databases. As many as six out of 322 articles were selected for the final analysis. The selected articles were published in the period between 2004 and 2021, most published within the last two years. All analyzed studies were prospective. Five out of six studies evaluated NMSC consisting of both BCC and SCC, and only one study selectively evaluated the impact of surgical treatment on QoL in patients with craniofacial BCC. Authors of the selected studies reported that QoL improves following the surgery; however, the effect on QoL varies. Patients’ age, gender, marital status, education level, and employment status had a stronger correlation with QoL postoperatively, especially during the late follow-up period. Younger patients were more bothered by appearance-related issues. One study concluded that elderly patients did not experience a statistically significant improvement in QoL. This literature review demonstrated that there is no clear consensus on the use of a single disease-specific QoL measurement tool. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies assessing the impact of surgical treatment on QoL exclusively in patients with head and neck BCC and studies analyzing the multivariate correlation between QoL and tumor type, size, anatomic site, and treatment outcomes.