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

December 31, 2025 updated by: Maastricht University Medical Center

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

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.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

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.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

78

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Netherlands
    • Gelderland
      • Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands
        • Radboud UMC
    • Limburg
      • Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
        • Maastricht University Medical Center +

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients are selected by the treating physicians from multidisciplinary consultation in the secondary/tertiary centers Maastricht UMC+ and Radboud UMC.

Description

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

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
head-neck cutaneous Squamous cell carcinomas
Patients with high risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head-neck area receiving regular, multidisciplinary care.
Other: Regular care with additionally administration of questionnaires

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

  1. after the multidisciplinary consultation, a baseline questionnaire*, the decision conflict scale and the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire are administered by phone.
  2. 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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
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.
At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.
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).
At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.
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).
At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.
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.
At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.
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.
Once during the care pathway: 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
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.
At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.
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).
At the start (before treatment) of the care pathway.
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).
At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.
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.
At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.
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.
At 1 month after completion of the care pathway.
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).
Twice during the care pathway: at the start (before treatment) and 1 month after completion of the care pathway.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Maastricht University Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: K Mosterd, MD, PhD, Maastricht University Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 28, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 26, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 28, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

August 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

January 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 31, 2025

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • METC 2018-2918-A-2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Quality of Life

Clinical Trials on Regular care with additionally administration of questionnaires

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Sweden

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe