The study will assess the effect of cancer treatments on speech perception in noise, cognition, and hearing-related quality of life by monitoring 200 cancer patients receiving standard care for their underlying malignancy.
The study will assess the effects of four different types of cancer treatments on speech perception in noise, hearing thresholds, cognition, and hearing-related quality of life over a follow-up period of 3 years. The speech perception in noise will be assessed using the Finnish matrix sentence test. Other hearing measures include transient and distortion product otoacoustic emissions, impedance audiometry and pure-tone audiometry extending to high frequencies (0.125kHz - 16kHz). Hearing-related quality of life will be assessed using Speech, Spatial, and Qualities 12 -questionnaire, Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale 10 -questionnaire and Tinnitus Handicap Index. Cognitive functions will be assed using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) questionnaire and neuropsychological tests. The neuropsychological tests included in the study are Continuous Performance Test, Continuous Auditory Test of Attention, Trail Making Test A \& B, Stroop Test, Coding and Digit span tasks from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Fourth Edition, Word List task from Wechsler Memory Scale III, and Controlled Oral Word Association Test. Neuropsychological assessments will be conducted at baseline and 1 year and 3 years after the end of the treatments. All other assessments will be conducted at baseline and at 3-4 months, 1 year, and 3 years after the end of the initial treatments.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
250
Cancer treatment
Turku University Hospital
Turku, Southwest Finland, Finland
RECRUITINGSpeech perception in noise
The treatment-related change in speech perception in noise (in decibel signal-to-noise ratio (db SNR)) from baseline to first follow-up at 3-4 months after the end of the treatment.
Time frame: 4 months
Long-term effects on speech perception in noise
Treatment-related long-term changes in speech perception in noise (in decibel signal-to-noise ratio (dB SNR)) measured with the Finnish matrix sentence test
Time frame: 3 years
Short- and long-term effects on high frequency hearing
Treatment-related changes in high frequency (8-16kHz) hearing thresholds
Time frame: 3 years
Hearing-related quality of life - Sound quality
Treatment-related changes in hearing related quality of life measured using the total score from Speech, Spatial, and Qualities 12 question questionnaire (SSQ-12). Responses are given with a VAS scale from 0 to 10, with 10 indicating perfect hearing performance and 0 worst possible performance. Range for total scores is 0-120, and decrease in scores indicates deterioration in hearing-related quality of life.
Time frame: 3 years
Hearing-related quality of life - Fatigue
Treatment-related changes in hearing-related fatigue are measured using the total score from Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults (10 question version, VFS-A-10). Responses are given in a 5-point Likert scale. The range for total scores is 0-40 with higher scores indicating more fatigue / worse score. An increase in the total score indicates increased listening-related fatigue.
Time frame: 3 years
Hearing-related quality of life - Tinnitus
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Treatment-related changes in tinnitus symptoms are measured using the total score from Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). The questionnaire provides a total score between 0 and 100, with larger score indicating more tinnitus-related handicap. An increase in the total score indicates increased tinnitus-related handicap.
Time frame: 3 years
Treatment-related changes in brain glucose metabolism
Treatment-related brain changes are evaluated from the FDG PET by assessing the voxel-wise mean change in the standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) from baseline to follow-up. Decrease in SUVRs indicates treatment-related decrease in brain glucose metabolism.
Time frame: 3 years