Incidence and risk factors of communication, swallowing, and orofacial myofunctional disorders in children and adolescents with cancer and benign neoplasms

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Coça, Kaliani Lima^{a; *} | Bergmann, Anke^b | de Angelis, Elisabete Carrara^c | Ferman, Sima^d | Ribeiro, Márcia Gonçalves^e

Affiliations: [a] Section of Speech-Language Pathology, Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | [b] Molecular Carcinogenesis Program, Instituto Nacional do Câncer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | [c] Section of Speech-Language Pathology, Hospital A.C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil | [d] Pediatric Oncology Service, Instituto Nacional do Câncer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | [e] Department of Pediatrics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Kaliani Lima Coça, Praça da Cruz Vermelha, 23, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, CEP: 20230-130, RJ, Brazil. Tel.: + 55 21 98272 0723/ +55 21 3207 1392; E-mail: kalianilima@hotmail.com;klima@inca.gov.br.

Abstract: PURPOSE: To describe the incidence and risk factors of communication, swallowing, and orofacial myofunctional disorders in a cohort of children and adolescents with cancer and benign neoplasms. METHODS: A prospective cohort study conducted with children aged ⩾ 2 years and adolescents of both genders admitted at the Pediatric Oncology Department of the Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA) between March 2014 and April 2015. Study participants were submitted to a Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) assessment at three different times: (T1) at hospital admission; (T2) six months after admission; (T3) one year after admission. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty individuals were evaluated. At the time of hospital admission, 68 individuals (42.5%) presented with some type of SLP disorder. After one year of follow-up, 22.8% of the patients had developed new impairments. The occurrence of new speech-language disorders had a statistically significant association with the tumor site. In the risk analysis for the development of speech-language disorders with respect to the primary tumor site, compared to other sites, the central nervous system (CNS) tumor group was 8.29 times more likely to present some new alterations, while the head and neck (HN) tumor group had a 10.36-fold higher risk. CONCLUSION: An incidence of 22.8% for communication, swallowing, and orofacial myofunctional disorders was observed. The development of these disorders was greater in individuals with tumors in the CNS and in the HN region.

Keywords: Speech, language and hearing sciences, oncology, pediatrics, communication disorders, deglutition disorders

DOI: 10.3233/PRM-180576

Journal: Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 25-35, 2020