A prospective evaluation of short-term health-related quality of life in patients undergoing anterior skull base surgery

We evaluated the health-related quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing anterior skull base tumor resection. The Anterior Skull Base Surgery QOL questionnaire, a disease-specific multidimensional instrument dedicated to this population, was used to collect and prospectively analyze demographic, medical, and QOL data on 48 patients. Thirty-nine patients completed the questionnaire preoperatively and at 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Seventeen patients (44%) had malignant histology and 22 (56%) had benign tumors. The overall QOL score decreased significantly at 6 months postoperatively (p<0.05) and improved significantly at 12 months postoperatively (p<0.04). The emotional domain improved significantly at 12 months postoperatively compared with the preoperative scores (p<0.03). Patients with malignant tumors had lower scores at 6 months postoperatively compared with patients with benign lesions (p<0.002), although the scores for both groups at 12 months postoperatively were similar. Adjuvant radiation therapy was associated with a poor QOL (p<0.005). The results of this prospective study show that the overall deteriorated QOL of patients after anterior skull base tumor resection returns to baseline by 1 year after surgery. Histology and radiotherapy are significant predictors of health-related QOL in this population.