Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in head and cancer population undergoing chemoradiation therapy : A cross -sectional study

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common breathing disorder characterized by partial or complete collapse of oropharyngeal tract, resulting in periodic decrease or cessation of airflow at night. This leads to hypoxia and hypercapnia, reactive respiratory effort- related arousal, elevated markers of oxidative stress and inflammation. This increases risk of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurocognitive morbidities

Head And Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancer is a general term for epithelial cancer, is a growing concern of India, with a 57.5% increase in new cases by 2040 predicted by GLOBOCAN 2020.According to recent research, undergoing treatment for cancer in head and neck region surgical and conservative may serve as a significant risk of developing OSA. Surgery in the head and neck region causes structural alteration that may have serious effect on airflow

in the upper airway. Radiation therapy causes soft tissue edema which may lead to anatomical changes in head and neck region. Identification of severity of OSA in head and neck cancer population is typically not done in Indian population. Therefore to identify prevalence of OSA in HNC population is required.

Thus the goal for this study is to identify prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in head and neck cancer patients using STOP-BANG questionnaire and Epworth sleepiness scale.