A Prospective Evaluation of Short-Term Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Anterior Skull Base Surgery

Objective: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing anterior skull base tumor resection.

Method: The Anterior Skull Base Surgery (ASBS) QOL questionnaire—a disease-specific, multidimensional instrument dedicated to this population—was used in all patients. Demographic, medical, and QOL data on 48 patients were collected and analyzed prospectively. Thirty-nine patients successfully completed the questionnaire before surgery and 6 and 12 months after surgery. Seventeen patients (44%) had malignant histology, and 22 (56%) had benign tumors.

Results: There was significant decrease in the overall QOL score 6 months after surgery (P < 0.05) and significant improvement 12 months after surgery (P < 0.04). Improvement was also recorded 12 months after surgery in the emotional domain role relative to the preoperative scores (P < 0.03). Patients with malignant tumors had lower scores 6 months after surgery compared with those with benign lesions (P < 0.002). Nevertheless, similar scores were recorded in both groups 12 months after surgery. Adjuvant radiation therapy was associated with poor QOL (P < 0.005).

Conclusions: Our prospective study shows that the overall QOL of patients after anterior skull base tumor resection returns to baseline 1 year after surgery. Histology and radiotherapy are significant predictors of health-related QOL in this population.